New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a petition seeking the cancellation of All India Quota (AIQ) Round 3 of NEET-PG 2024 counselling and a directive for fresh counselling. A bench comprising Justices B R Gavai and K Vinod Chandran heard the matter and ruled against the plea.
Key Arguments & Supreme Court’s Ruling:
- A counsel representing the National Medical Commission (NMC) argued that canceling AIQ Round 3 would have a cascading effect across states, disrupting the entire admission process.
- The Supreme Court agreed, stating that if this plea was entertained, many more similar petitions would follow, causing widespread uncertainty.
Petitioners’ Concerns:
- The petitioners were aggrieved by a clash in the counselling schedules for AIQ and state quota admissions.
- The plea alleged that AIQ Round 3 began before the completion of Round 2 of state counselling in several states, leading to discrepancies.
- Some state quota candidates, who were ineligible for AIQ Round 3, managed to register and block seats, putting genuine AIQ candidates at a disadvantage.
Court’s Decision:
- On February 4, the Supreme Court had sought responses from the Centre, NMC, and other authorities regarding the anomalies in counselling.
- However, the court ultimately sided with the NMC, holding that altering the counselling process at this stage would create further complications for thousands of students.
With this ruling, NEET-PG 2024 admissions will proceed as per the existing counselling schedule, and AIQ Round 3 remains valid.