NEET PG | Students Who Take Admission In All India Quota Can't Vacate Seats After 2nd Round Of AIQ Counselling : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Monday (August 21) reiterated that students who take admission in All India Quota(AIQ) seats for Post Graduate medical courses cannot vacate the seats after the second round of counselling for AIQ seats in National Entrance-cum-Eligibility Test (NEET).

The Court referred to the order passed in May 2017 in the case Dar-Us-Slam Educational Trust v Medical Council of India in this regard.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra was hearing a writ petition filed by a student, who resigned from a PG medical seat allotted under the NRI quota.

The petitioner was granted admission to a three-year post graduate medical degree course in the second round of counselling in the NRI quota on 24 February 2022. The petitioner withdrew from the seat which was allotted to her on 26 March 2022. The third round of counselling took place on 22 April 2022 which was followed by a fourth round for the stray vacancy on 7 May 2022. The seat remained unfilled.

The Court noted that as a result of the decision of the petitioner, the seat was left vacant preventing any other meritorious student from obtaining admission. In this background, the Court refused to grant relief to the petitioner.

"In the order of this Court in Dar-Us-Slam Educational Trust v Medical Council of India, it was expressly stipulated that after the second round of counselling for All India Quota seats, students who take admission in All India Quota seats should not be allowed/permitted to vacate the seats", the Court stated in the order.

In the case Dar-Us-Slam Educational Trust v Medical Council of India, the Court had held as follows :

"After the second round of counselling for All India Quota seats, the students who take admission in All India Quota seats should not be allowed/permitted to vacate the seats. This would ensure that very few seats are reverted to the State Quota and also All India Quota seats are filed by students from the all India merit list only. The students who take admission and secure admission in Deemed Universities pursuant to the second round of counselling conducted by the DGHS shall not be eligible to participate in any other counselling".

Case Title : Amrit Malik v. The Medical Counselling Committee and others | Writ Petition (Civil) No.944/2022

Citation : 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 684

Click here to read the order