The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court on July 5 gave a breather to medical aspirants in the state of Maharashtra. Earlier, only aspirants, who had completed their SSC and HSC examination from the state were sanctioned to get the benefit of the 85% domicile medical seats in private colleges across the state through counselling conducted by the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER). However, the Bombay HC ordered yesterday, on July 5, that those candidates who have passed their SSC from any other board or state will also be eligible for the domicile seats, provided they have completed their HSC examination from the state.

Aspirants from the state were perplexed by the way demarcation of domicile candidates were being based on their passing of board examinations and a writ petition was filed by Alia Kausar, challenging the same. Under the eligibility criteria mentioned earlier, it was stated that aspirants need to ‘have passed the SSC and HSC examination from an Institution situated in the state of Maharashtra’ in order to be eligible for the 85% domicile seats .

Hearing the writ petition, sitting judges Justice Anoop V Mehta and S K Kotwal on July 5 declared that those aspirants who have passed HSC examination from the state with a domicile certificate will qualify for the seats. “The candidates who have passed SSC or equivalent examination from an institution situated outside the state of Maharashtra are also eligible, provided he/she has passed HSC or qualifying examination from an institution situated in the state of Maharashtra and also possesses a domicile certificate of the state of Maharashtra,” said the court order.

Those eligible candidates who couldn’t take part in the online registration process for filling of state quota seats of Maharashtra till July 5, will be able to do so from today onwards. The last date to register for the Maharashtra State Quota medical seats is July 10.