The Madhya Pradesh High Court issued an interim judgement on December 18 stating that NRI (Non-Resident Indian) quota seats will not be filled in the next National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test Postgraduate 2024 (NEET-PG 2024) counselling at private medical colleges till the final verdict is delivered.

The action was in response to a petition alleging that the 15 per cent seats allotted for NRIs in the state's private medical colleges are only awarded to eight popular courses and are not equitably distributed, reports Times of India.

A Division Bench of the MP High Court, comprising Justices Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari Anuradha Shukla, observed, "Taking into consideration the fact that the matter was heard and reserved today and a final decision may take some time, in the interest of justice and with a view to avoid the creation of third-party rights… Until the delivery of the final order, the seats under NRI quota shall not be filled in the ensuing counselling of PG courses and be kept in abeyance."

The bench reserved its final orders.

According to the Public Interest Litigation filed by Dr Ojas Yadav, an aspirant from Bhopal, the MP counselling committee developed a merit list for NRIs, and although medical colleges have 22 branches, the state government granted NRI quota seats to only eight of the most popular branches.