The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Tamil Nadu government to start counselling for admissions to MBBS and BDS seats based on the NEET merit list and complete the process by September 4.
A Bench, headed by Justice Dipak Misra, directed the State government to initiate the admission process after the Central government told the court that it was not in favour of the recent ordinance passed by Tamil Nadu to exempt it from the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) this year.
The apex court was hearing a plea filed by six students seeking a direction to the State government to conduct counselling for the medical seats solely on the basis of the merit list prepared on the basis of NEET marks.
The court, on August 17, put on hold till today, counselling for the medical seats in the State asking the Medical Council of India (MCI) and the State government to find a balanced solution to deal with the interests of State board students and those who had cleared the NEET.
The plea had alleged that State Ministers were bargaining with the Central government for presidential assent for their proposed ordinance to exempt Tamil Nadu students from the NEET as a “quid pro quo for supporting the NDA candidates for the presidential and vice-presidential polls.”