In a landmark move to curb widespread malpractices in post-graduate medical admissions, the Supreme Court on Wednesday issued a series of comprehensive directions aimed at overhauling the NEET-PG counselling process. The directive comes in response to allegations of large-scale seat-blocking and irregularities during the medical counselling process, particularly in the mop-up rounds.
A bench comprising Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice R. Mahadevan was hearing an appeal filed by the State of Uttar Pradesh and its Director General of Medical Education and Training, challenging a 2018 Allahabad High Court ruling that addressed complaints from NEET-PG aspirants about unfair seat allocation.
Key Reforms Ordered
The Supreme Court outlined a 10-point framework designed to ensure fairness, transparency, and meritocracy in the counselling process:
- National Counselling Calendar: A unified schedule for All India Quota (AIQ) and State counselling rounds to prevent seat manipulation.
- Fee Transparency: Mandatory pre-counselling disclosure of all charges by private and deemed universities.
- Central Fee Regulation: A standardized fee structure to be implemented under the National Medical Commission (NMC).
- Post-Round 2 Upgrades: Admitted candidates can upgrade to better seats without reopening counselling for new entrants.
- Exam Transparency: Publication of raw scores, answer keys, and normalization methods for multi-shift NEET-PG exams.
- Penalties for Seat Blocking: Forfeiture of security deposits, disqualification from future exams, and blacklisting of erring colleges.
- Aadhaar-Based Seat Tracking: To prevent candidates from holding multiple seats or providing false information.
- Accountability of Authorities: State officials and institutional heads to face disciplinary or contempt action for violations.
- Uniform Counselling Code: Standardized rules across states for eligibility, mop-up rounds, seat withdrawals, and grievance redressal.
- Third-Party Oversight: NMC to conduct annual audits of counselling data for compliance and fairness.
Background of the Case
The litigation stems from a 2018 Allahabad High Court verdict in a writ petition filed by NEET-PG aspirants from the 2017-18 academic session. Petitioners alleged that candidates already allotted seats in earlier counselling rounds were unfairly allowed to participate in the mop-up round, leading to less meritorious candidates securing seats in high-demand courses like Radiology.
The High Court had ordered compensation of ₹10 lakh each to two petitioners and directed the U.P. government to conduct a thorough inquiry and implement reforms. However, the Supreme Court stayed these directions in April 2018, noting that subsequent reforms had been introduced, particularly after its ruling in Nihila P.P. v. Medical Counselling Committee in 2021.
Court’s Observations
While acknowledging the improvements made in the counselling process post-2018, the Supreme Court emphasized the need for enforceable guidelines to ensure “effective implementation of the revised counselling framework, thereby upholding the principles of merit, fairness and transparency.”
In a balanced approach, the apex court also revised the compensation amount awarded by the High Court, reducing it from ₹10 lakh to ₹1 lakh for each affected candidate.
This ruling marks a significant step towards restoring trust in the medical admissions process and is expected to bring greater accountability and clarity to NEET-PG counselling procedures nationwide.