Pinnacle allows NEET PG and UG counselling to begin and also upholds validity of OBC, EWS quota

The bench of justices led by Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice AS Bopanna pronounced
the verdict at 10:30 am today.he bench of justices led by Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice AS Bopanna pronounced the verdict at 10:30 am today. 
The Supreme Court of India on Friday said it has upheld the constitutional validity of the 27 percent reservation for OBC in NEET UG and PG. For the EWS category, 10 percent reservation will apply this year as per existing criteria and the prospective ruling will be decided on a final hearing on 3 March, 2022. The Supreme Court said that it will allow 27% reservation for Other Backward Class (OBC) and 10% for Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category in the All-India Quota (AIQ) seats for admission in the NEET for all medical seats as existing criteria this year. The bench said that validity of criteria of ₹8 lakh for determination of EWS for future years will be subject to final adjudication of the batch of petitions and listed the pleas for final hearing on March 5 Meanwhile, just yesterday the Centre told the Supreme Court that the introduction of OBC and EWS reservations after the issuance of NEET-PG exam notification does not amount to "changing the rules of the game" midway.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, told a bench of justices DY Chandrachud and AS Bopanna that the submission that OBC reservation is unconstitutional is legally unsustainable.
If we look at the case it’s the challenge against the validity of the Centre's decision to introduce OBC/EWS reservation in the All India Quota of NEET admissions. The dispute has its origin in the notification issued by the Central Government on July 29, which introduced 27% reservation for Other Backward Classes(OBCs) and 10% reservation for Economically Weaker Sections(EWS) in the All India Quota(AIQ) for undergraduate and postgraduate medical / dental courses (MBBS / MD / MS / Diploma / BDS / MDS) from the current academic year 2021-22 onwards.
During the hearing, the Supreme Court raised doubts regarding the reasonableness of the Rupees 8 lakh gross annual income limit adopted by the Centre to determine EWS cut-off.
The bench also passed a detailed order recording its doubts over the reasonableness of the EWS limit.
On October 25, the Central Government told the Supreme Court that the NEET counselling will not commence while the EWS-OBC issue was pending adjudication.
On November 25, the Centre agreed to revisit the EWS criteria in the light of the Court's concerns and decided to formulate a Committee to examine the issue. The Centre sought for weeks time to complete the exercise. Accordingly, the Supreme Court had then adjourned the case to January 6, 2022 and today judgement came out.

The bench said, "We accept the recommendation of the Pandey committee that the criteria which have been stipulated in Office Memorandum (OM) of 2019 be used for 2021-22 in order to ensure that the admission process is not dislocated."
Lastly, the bench said the criteria for the determination of EWS notified by OM of 2019 shall
be used for identifying the EWS category of candidates who appeared for NEET-PG 2021 and NEET-UG 2021 examinations.