NEET-PG : MCC's Bar On Mop-Up Round Participation For Doctors Who Selected Seats In State Quota Round-2 Counselling Challenged In Supreme Court

A group of doctors have filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court challenging the March 16 notice of the Medical Counselling Committee which bars the participation in the mop-up round counselling for NEET-PG admissions if the candidate has picked up a seat in State Quota Round-2 counselling.

The petition was mentioned today before a bench led by Justice Chandrachud for urgent listing. Justice Chandrachud said that the bench was considering tomorrow another petition seeking participation in mop-up round and agreed to hear the present matter along with it.

The petitioners, six doctors, argue that the notice dated 16.3.2022 issued by MCC is unconstitutional and illegal because the State Quota Counselling Rules expressly permit candidates to cancel/surrender/resign from their allotted seats (with or without forfeiture) so that they can participate in any other round if they are so advised.

It is argued that the said notice ignores that this is the first time four rounds of AIQ Counselling (AIQ Round 1, AIQ Round 2, AIQ Mop-Up and AIQ Stray Round) are being conducted by the MCC pursuant to the order passed by the Supreme Court on 16.12.2021 in Nihila PP v. The Medical Counseling Committee (MCC) & Ors., SLP (Civil) No. 10487 of 2021 ("Nihila PP order"). Contrary to previous years where after the first two rounds of AIQ counselling, the vacant seats sed to be reverted to the State Quota, it was clarified in the  Nihila PP order that there would be no reversion of unfilled All-India Quota seats to State Quota after the second round of AIQ Counselling.

"There is no reason/basis disclosed in the notification dated 16.3.2022 issued by the R-1 MCC. The impugned notice strikes at the heart of the notion of merit and the entitlement of a more meritorious candidate to get a seat of his/her choice", the petition filed through Advocate Shivendra Singh reads.

The petitioners raise the following queries :

(i) Why was the impugned notice issued on 16.3.2002 almost a month after the results of AIQ Round 2 were announced on 18.2.2022?

(ii) Why should a candidate be made to suffer and not be allowed to participate in the AIQ Mop-Up counselling when the seat picked by him/her in the State Round-2 counseling would in any case be available in the State Mop-Upcounselling round?

(iii)Why should a candidate who cancelled/surrendered/resignedfrom his/her allotted Round-2 State Quota Counselling in anticipation of participating in the All-India Quota Mop-Up Round be made to suffer for no fault of theirs?

The petitioners seek to quash the notice dated 16.03.2022 of the MCC as arbitrary and as violative of Article 14 of the Constitution. Further, the petition seeks direction permitting thePetitioners to participate in the All-India Quota Mop-Up Round without insisting on the cancellation/surrender/resignation from the seats allotted to them in State Quota Round-2 Counselling and also permitting those who had cancelled/surrendered/resigned from their State Quota Round-2 Counselling in response to the impugned notice dated 16.3.2022 issued by the MCC to participate in the All-India Quota Mop-Up Round.

On March 11, the bench led by Justice DY Chandrachud had issued notice on two other writ petitions filed by doctors seeking participation in the mop-up round. Those petitions were preferred by the doctors who had appeared in NEET PG 2021 and participated in Round 1 of the Counseling and had joined one course but was not provided an upgrade in Round 2 and thus intended to apply for the Mop-Up round.

It was argued in that petition that the seats for Mop Up Round were not available for the candidates who have joined seats in Round I or Round II which created an embargo and was duly prejudicial to the candidate's interest.

(Case Title : Dr. Suraj Shete and others versus The Medical Counselling Committee and others, WP(c) 202 of 2022)

Click Here To Read/Download Order