Supreme Court Directs Special Counseling Round for NEET Vacant Seats Amid Acute Doctor Shortage
The Supreme Court of India, on December 20, 2024, issued a directive aimed at addressing the alarming shortage of medical professionals in the country. A Bench comprising Justice B.R. Gavail and Justice K.V. Vishwanathan ordered the National Medical Commission (NMC) and the state admission authorities to conduct a special stray counseling round for vacant seats in medical colleges after the completion of five regular rounds of counseling.
The decision was delivered in a batch of petitions filed under Article 32 of the Constitution, emphasizing the necessity of utilizing available resources to meet the country’s healthcare demands.
The petitions primarily sought judicial intervention to ensure that approximately 1,456 vacant medical seats across the country are not wasted due to procedural delays or incomplete admission processes. One petition also requested the conversion of a vacant NRI quota seat into a management quota seat to facilitate its utilization.
The Bench noted, “Taking into consideration the peculiar facts and circumstances and further that the precious medical seats should not go to waste, when the country is facing an acute shortage of doctors, we are inclined to extend the period by way of a last chance.”
The Supreme Court issued the following directives to ensure timely and transparent utilization of vacant seats:
- Special Counseling Round: The Court directed the state admission authorities to organize a special stray vacancy counseling round to allocate remaining seats. This process must be concluded by December 30, 2024.
- Transparency and Regulation: Admissions must be conducted exclusively through the state admission authorities. The Court explicitly prohibited colleges from admitting students directly to prevent any malpractices or irregularities.
- Non-Disruption of Finalized Admissions: The Court clarified that the special counseling process should not interfere with admissions already finalized. It instructed that admissions should prioritize candidates from the waitlist.
- Conversion of NRI Quota Seats: The Bench approved the conversion of any vacant NRI quota seats into general category seats, to be filled through the state admission authorities in compliance with existing regulations.
Senior Counsel Gaurav Sharma, representing the NMC, stated, “In view of the number of vacant seats, as a one-time measure and without it being treated as a precedent, this Court may extend the period for admissions.”
The Court acknowledged the necessity of such measures while emphasizing that this extension is an exception to the usual timelines.
CaseTitle: Era Lucknow Medical College and Hospital v. State of Uttar Pradesh & Ors.
Case No.: W.P.(C) No. 833/2024 and connected matters
Bench: Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice K.V. Vishwanathan
