CHENNAI: The ongoing postgraduate medical admissions across India came to a screeching halt on Tuesday after the Madras high court directed the
Director General of Health Services (DGHS), New Delhi and Tamil Nadu’s state selection committee not to allot seats to any students both under the all-India quota and state quota until further orders.
The authorities can go ahead with the counselling process, but they shall not allot seats till further orders, said Justice
S Vaidyanathan in his interim orders.
The judge passed the orders on a batch of petitions, including those filed by in-service candidates, seeking direction to DGHS to comply with Post Graduate Medical Education Regulations, in admissions to PG medical courses, and award due weightage (incentive) marks for service rendered in remote/difficult areas.
Some of the petitions also wanted reservation of 50% of seats for service candidates under the all-India quota as well. When the pleas came up for hearing, assistant solicitor-general Karthikeyan submitted that though the first phase of counselling had been completed, admissions would not be made till the court passed final orders.
The petitions filed by Dr C Sudhan and six others said they were in-service candidates in
Tamil Nadu Medical Services, working as assistant surgeons in government medical facilities. They had appeared for NEET PG-2018 and secured more than 50% marks and were duly declared as eligible for admission to PG medical courses this year.