SC nod to counselling rule changes for PG medical

05.05.2018

NEW DELHI, DHNS: The Supreme Court has approved the changes in the counselling rules introduced by the Medical Council of India this year to check the “blocking” of seats by doctors aspiring to pursue postgraduate courses.

“Devious methods were adopted by certain candidates to block the seats in the all-India quota and resign thereafter from those seats later, which resulted in the reversion of the all-India quota seats to the state quota,” a bench of justices S A Bobde and L Nageswara Rao said.

Notably, admission to postgraduate courses is undertaken on the basis of National Eligibility-cum-Entrance 
Test.

50% of the seats are earmarked for all India quota and the remaining 50% for the state quota. A group of postgraduate courses aspirants, led by Rachit Sinha, contended the changes brought in by the MCI on April 9 stated that even if a candidate is allotted a seat in the first round of counselling in the all-India quota but did not report, he/she would be entitled to participate in the second round. 

A candidate who had reported but resigned was also made eligible to participate in the second round.

The petitioner claimed it would increase competition as candidates who were not eligible to participate in the second round of counselling earlier were permitted to compete for admissions in the second round.

The top court, however, rejected their contention, saying, “the MCI made changes to arrest the blocking of seats by certain candidates which was detrimental to the interest of meritorious candidates in the all-India quota”.

It also noted that the medical counselling committee identified about a thousand candidates who were indulging in such illegal practice and proposed to take action against them after a thorough inquiry. The court said there is no infringement of any legal right of the petitioners.

Reduction of the chances of admission does not entail the violation of any right, it said.

The top court also took exception to the fact that some states and deemed/central institutions completed the second round of counselling without waiting for the reversion of the unfilled seats in the second round of counselling of the all-India quota.

It directed that such states and deemed/central institutions shall conduct the second round of counselling again after reversion of the unfilled seats in the second round of counselling of the all-India quota.

The court said the concerned authority will report the unfilled seats in the second round of the all-India counselling to the respective states by May 5.

The second round of counselling for the state quota shall be conducted and completed by May 10. The mop-up round for the state quota, scheduled to be completed by May 8, is extended to May 15, the court ordered.