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Journalism of Courage
With over 1,600 seats lying vacant for the post-graduate medical and dental courses under the 50 per cent all-India quota,the Supreme Court Thursday asked the Centre to conduct the fourth round of counselling to fill up seats as per the national merit list.
A Bench of Justices A K Patnaik and J S Khehar asked the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) and the Medical Council of India (MCI) to conduct the additional round of counselling by August 21.
On an apprehension by Additional Solicitor General Siddharth Luthra that another round of counselling could open a floodgate,the Bench made it clear that those candidates,who had given up on their allotments and did not appear for subsequent round of counselling for upgradation of course,will not be allowed to appear in the fourth round. However those who appeared in the second round of counselling but not in the third round would be permitted.
The court accepted the arguments by senior advocate Indu Malhotra that seats should not go to the states by virtue of vacancy in the all-India quota and that an additional round of counselling was required to fill up as many seats as possible.
Appearing for Dr Fraz Naseem and others,Malhotra had pointed out that 18 states had not conducted even the first round of counselling whereas the DGHS had completed its three rounds. She alleged that states deliberately delayed the counselling so that several seats from the all-India quota get transferred to them.
Earlier,Luthra had informed the Bench that 1651 post-graduate quota seats in medical and dental courses are lying vacant because students have left for better courses in state colleges. The court expressed concern that states could be delaying counselling so that seats under the all-India quota get transferred to them and they could fill them at whim.
