The Madras High Court on Monday ordered notices to a host of Central and State government officials on a contempt of court petition filed by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) for alleged irregularities in the constitution of a committee to decide the quantum of reservation to be given to Other Backward Class (OBC) candidates while filling medical and dental seats contributed to the all-India quota by the State government-run colleges.
The First Division Bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy passed the orders after senior counsel P. Wilson, representing the DMK, said the court had on July 27, 2020 specifically ordered the inclusion of the State government’s Health Secretary in the committee. However, the Chief Secretary nominated the Managing Director of the Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation on behalf of the government to the committee, he complained.
Wilful disobedience
Similarly, the Centre had not included the Director General of Health Services; instead, a consultant to DGHS had been made the chairperson of the committee, the counsel said and sought to punish the contemnors for alleged wilful disobedience of the orders passed by the court on a batch of cases filed for providing 50% reservation for OBC candidates in the medical and dental seats surrendered by the State government to the all-India quota every year.
