NEET PG 2021 Counselling round 2 seat lost only if candidate joins special round, SC clarifies

NEW DELHI: Regarding the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) PG 2021 counselling for All India Quota (AIQ) seats, the Supreme Court has clarified that a candidate will lose their seat in round 2 only if they join the seat allotted to them in the special round being conducted for 146 additional seats, according to the Live Law.

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The top court made the clarification on the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC)’s frequently asked questions (FAQ) on NEET PG 2021 counselling special round. The answer to question number 2 says, “If you are allotted a seat in a special round you will have no claim on the earlier or old seat.” The court added that the candidate should have joined the seat in special round to have their round 2 seat cancelled.

The confusion arose due to no mentioning of joining of the special round seat in the FAQ answer by MCC resulting in some Maharashtra candidates filing a petition against the MCC FAQ notification. The plea argued that mere allotment of seat in the special round should not deprive the candidate of their seat in round 2 counselling.

NEET PG 2021 Counselling Special Round

Thus, a bench of Justices DY Chandrachud, Surya Kant and Bela M Trivedi clarified that the MCC FAQ answer should contain ‘joining of seat’ as well.

Further, the petition also questioned FAQ number 4 regarding the eligibility of candidates in mop up round if they don’t join the seat in special round.

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“If you are allotted a seat in Special Round and you don’t join the allotted seat then you will fall in the Exit with Forfeiture category. Your Security Deposit will get forfeited and you will have to Register again with payment of requisite fees in Mop Up Round of PG Counsellling. However, once you join the seat allotted to you in Special Round, you will not be able to resign,” the MCC answered in the FAQ.

Upon this, the top court explained, “if you’re allotted a seat and then you don’t take the seat, then there is no free exit. You go back to the seat allotted in round 2. It’s very clear.”

NEET PG counselling candidates can check MCC FAQ on the official website - mcc.nic.in.