‘Cancel MCC NEET PG round 3 counselling’: 75 aspirants approach SC demanding ‘fair chance’

NEW DELHI: Over 75 aspirants from different states approached the Supreme Court seeking cancellation of NEET PG round 3 counselling allotments as the delay in Madhya Pradesh NEET round 2 counselling has deprived deserving candidates ‘a fair chance’.

The MP NEET PG round 2 counselling 2024 was not concluded before the declaration on All India Quota (AIQ) results by the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC). This has raised serious concerns among the aspirants as they will

The petitioners are MBBS graduate doctors who have appeared for the NEET PG 2024 conducted by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences. The graduate doctors, aggrieved by the clash in the MCC NEET PG and state counselling schedule, said that “a lot of candidates from the state quota who were otherwise not eligible to register for AIQ round 3, got a chance to register and block a seat.”

“And when the state round 2 counselling opened, they had an option to choose between the best option and leave the AIQ seat if they were getting a better seat in the state round of counselling,” the MP aspirants said, adding that the delay in MP NEET PG counselling has “forced the students into endless court battles due to poorly coordinated processes”.

Also read State quota vs domicile quota: Supreme Court order on NEET PG reservation explained

MCC NEET PG vs MP NEET PG counselling 2024

The MCC started the NEET PG round 3 counselling registration on December 26 and allowed eligible candidates based on the reduced NEET PG cut-off percentile to apply by January 22.

The choice filling and locking facility was made available from January 12 to 23 through the official website, mcc.nic.in. Later, on January 25, the final seat allotment for nearly 2 lakh (1,94,601) candidates were declared. Of which, 8,137 fresh allotments were made and 5,854 choices were upgraded in round 3 counselling. Notably, the MCC does not allow upgradation of choices in NEET PG stray vacancy round.

On the other hand, the MP NEET PG counselling round 2 seat allotments were declared on January 30, after the MCC published the round 3 allotment list. The Directorate of Medical Education (DME) Madhya Pradesh has instructed the selected candidates to report at the allotted college by February 4.

Fearing that the aspirants from Madhya Pradesh may have to pay for the seats as it is the the only major state lagging behind in the PG medical admission process, aspirants demanded for round 4 or stray vacancy upgrade.

MP NEET PG counselling ‘violates’ key rule

Brijesh Sutaria, a medical education activist, told Careers360: “The recently concluded AIQ Round 3 of NEET PG counselling has raised serious concerns. Madhya Pradesh State Round 2 was not concluded before the declaration of AIQ Round 3 results, violating a key rule that all state counselling rounds must finish before national rounds. This mismanagement has led to massive seat blockages, depriving deserving candidates of a fair chance at securing their desired branches and institutions.”

“Such recurring issues year after year highlight the systemic failures of MCC, NBEMS, and MoHFW. Students should not be forced into endless court battles due to poorly coordinated processes,” Sutaria said.

He demanded for ‘immediate cancellation’ of MCC NEET PG round 3 allotment and “reconduct” the counselling to ensure transparency and fairness. “It is high time that reforms are implemented to prevent these persistent issues,” he added.