NEET-PG 2022 Counselling: SC seeks DGHS reply on pleas for participation in mop-up round

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Monday asked the director-general of Health Services (DGHS) to respond to a batch of petitions filed by a group of doctors seeking to participate in mop-up round of NEET-PG 2021-22 counselling. A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and Surya Kant asked additional solicitor general Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for DGHS, to file a detailed reply on two sets of petitions filed by the doctors.

The bench told the counsel for petitioners, “Granting a stay on the process of counselling will be a very extreme step. We are dealing with medical students. If we cancel the seats, then we will have to cancel all the admissions, which would further delay the whole process. You all should come out with a solution also”.

Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranaryanan appearing for some of the petitioners said that notices have been issued by the DGHS bringing into new seats which were not available to them and now students who were below in merit will be getting better seats. “After the second round of counselling, we were allotted the seats. Then DGHS issued two notices to bring into the pool some seats which were not available to them. Hundreds of seats were added to the pool as a result people who were well below in merit were given seats which were not available to us”, he said.

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Senior advocate Rakesh Khanna, appearing for another set of students, said that there was a trend of blocking of seats and that was the reason why there were over 6,000 seats in mop-up round. Bhati said that the court should not allow any fresh registration in the stray round as if it is allowed then the process would become never ending. She said that only 150 new seats were added and there were only two options available that either the seats be allowed to remain vacant or added in the mop-up round so that they get filled up.

“During these COVID times, we need doctors. This is for the first time we have added new seats in the mop-up round,” she said. Sankaranaryanan said the entire system has been unfair to the candidates as they had to pay substantial penalties of around Rs 5 lakh, if they give up their seats and at least court can order for waive of penalties. The bench said that if it does so, then it has to do it for all the candidates. Senior advocate Sanjay Hegde, for another set of petitioners said that people who are much lower in rank then me will get better discipline and these candidates will be stuck in discipline, in which they had no interest.

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“Mop Up round of over 6000 seats is unprecedented and moreover it is a question of equal opportunity”, he said. One group of petitions before the top court filed by doctors said that they had participated in round one of the counselling and had joined one discipline but were not allowed to upgrade in round two and sought permission to appear in mop-up round. In another set of petitions, doctors have challenged the Medical Counselling Committee notice dated March 16 which restrains the participation in the mop-up round counselling if the candidate has already picked up seats in state quota.