SC upholds MCI notification

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the validity of a April 9 notification issued by the Medical Council of India (MCI) making changes in the method of admissions to the postgraduate medical courses to arrest the blocking of seats by certain candidates which was detrimental to the interest of meritorious students in the all India quota.

A Bench of Justices S.A. Bobde and L. Nageswara Rao passed the order on a notification issued by the MCI in the Postgraduate Medical Education (Amendment) Regulations, 2018. Admission to postgraduate courses is on the basis of the merit of the candidates in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-PG) conducted every year. Fifty% seats are earmarked for all India quota and the remaining for the State quota.

The court, in an eight-page order, observed that there is “material on record to suggest that devious methods were adopted by certain candidates to block the seats in the All India quota and resign thereafter from those seats which resulted in reversion of the all India quota seats to the State quota.”

Illegal practice

“The Medical Counselling Committee identified about thousand candidates who were indulging in such illegal practice and proposes to take action against them after a thorough inquiry,” the order said. The court said there was no infringement in the rights of the petitioners, who had challenged MCI’s April 9 notification, in the background of the ongoing counselling for the postgraduate medical admissions after NEET.

The court said “reduction of chances of admission does not entail in violation of any right and added that there was no reason for it to intervene as the intent of the MCI in issuing the notification was to end a devious practice. “The petitioners participated in the second round of counselling. No interference is warranted in respect of the all India quota.”