Cuttack, Feb. 16: The controversy over the cut-off date for selection of candidates for admission into postgraduate medical courses is over.

Orissa High Court has upheld its earlier order fixing March 31, 2012, as the cut-off date for both in-service candidates and fresh candidates for selection for admission into postgraduate courses in the three government medical colleges of the state.

The PG (Medical) Selection Committee 2012, Odisha had fixed March 31, 2012 for candidates who had not completed their MBBS degree and are in the final-year of their course (internship) and allowed them to apply for the postgraduate course with an undertaking to complete internship by that date. For candidates who have already completed MBBS course and given one or more years of service in tribal, rural or backward area the cut-off date was fixed as December 31, 2011, for the purpose of extending additional weightage of 10 per cent of mark secured in postgraduate entrance examination.

Controversy had sparked off with two in-service candidates had moving the high court alleging that “two different dates makes it arbitrary and discriminatory and amounts to providing two dates of eligibility”.

The petitioners sought intervention of the high court for alteration of cut-off date for them from December 31, 2011, to March 31, 2012. They claimed that with the present cut-off date they would be deprived of the benefits of one year of service (as they would complete two years of service by March 31, 2012).

The single judge bench of Justice Sanju Panda had on February 3 ruled that there was no justification for fixing two cut-off dates and directed the authorities concerned to fix March 31 as the cut-off date instead of December 31, 2011, for in-service candidates and prepare the merit list accordingly. The controversy had intensified when three other in-service candidates filed a writ appeal against the order of the single judge bench on the ground that such alteration changed their merit position.

“It changes the norms of selection in the middle of the selection process that also after the entrance examinations are over, thereby making unqualified person to become qualified,” the writ appeal contended.

“The division bench of Chief Justice V. Gopala Gowda and Justice B. N. Mohapatra said there was no infirmity in the order of the single judge bench and dismissed the writ appeal,” petitioner counsel Pravat Dash told The Telegraph.

Entrance examination was held on January 22 and counselling has been scheduled for February 17 and 18. According to the prospectus for Postgraduate (Medical) Selection, 2012, Odisha, 176 seats are available in the three government medical colleges for the 2012 academic session. Of them, 87 are reserved for in service candidates.