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"There cannot be any compromise with the merits and/or quality of Medical Education, which may ultimately affect the Public Health", observed the Supreme Court while dismissing the plea seeking directions to conduct a special stray counselling round for vacant NEET-PG seats pertaining to the academic year 2021. 

A division bench of Justices MR Shah and Aniruddha Bose thus held that the decision of the Union Government and the Medical Counselling Committee not to have a Special Stray Round of counselling was in the interest of Medical Education and Public Health.

"The process of admission and that too in the medical education cannot be endless. It must end at a particular point of time. The time schedule has to be adhered to, otherwise, ultimately, it may affect the medical education and the public health...", further remarked the top court.

In its judgment, the division bench noted that apart from the fact that after the closure of the last round of counselling on May 7, 2022 the entire software mechanism had been closed and the security deposit was refunded to the eligible candidates,and the admission process for NEET-PG-2022 had already begun.

The results for the NEET-PG-2022 have been announced on June 1, 2022 and as per the time schedule, the counselling process is going to start in July, 2022. Therefore, if one additional Special Stray Round of counselling is conducted now, as prayed, in that case, it may affect the admission process for NEET-PG-2022, said the Apex court.

"...even after eight to nine rounds of counselling, out of 40,000 seats, 1456 seats have remained vacant, out of which approximately, more than 1100 seats are non-clinical seats, which every year remain vacant, of which the judicial notice has been taken by this Court in the case of Education Promotion Society for India and Anr....", noted the bench.

In view of these observations, Court found that the petitioners were not entitled to any relief of a Writ of Mandamus directing the respondents to conduct a Special Stray Round of counselling for filling up the remaining vacant seats of NEET-PG-2021.

Granting of such relief now may affect the medical education and ultimately the public health, said the division bench while dismissing the batch of writ petitions and special leave petitions.

Last week, Supreme Court had slammed Medical Counselling Committee for not filling up the remaining 1456 vacant seats in medical colleges in 2021-22 session. Court had further said, "If the students are not given admission, we'll pass orders for compensation for playing with the future of the Students."

On Thursday, the Court had remarked that merely because Post Graduate medical seats were lying vacant in medical colleges, the court could not compromise on education and order a fresh round of counselling.

Case Title: Dr. Astha Goel and Ors. vs. The Medical Counselling Committee & Ors.