The Supreme Court today, Friday, February 7, dismissed a petition seeking the cancellation and fresh conduct of Round 3 of the All India Quota (AIQ) counselling for NEET-PG 2024. The petition, filed by a group of candidates, challenged the Medical Counselling Committee’s (MCC) scheduling and alleged a compromise in merit-based seat allocation.
A bench comprising Justice BR Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran observed that holding a fresh round of counselling at this stage would disrupt the entire admission process and, therefore, disposed of the plea.
The petitioners contended that AIQ Round 3 commenced before the completion of Round 2 of state-level counselling in a few states, notably Madhya Pradesh. This, they argued, allowed state quota candidates — who would not have been otherwise eligible — to block AIQ seats while simultaneously securing better seats through the state quota, disadvantaging other meritorious candidates.
They also claimed that MCC’s scheduling violated Supreme Court precedents and contravened Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.
The plea sought either a cancellation and re-conduct of AIQ Round 3 or an additional fourth round to fill seats blocked by ineligible candidates. Additionally, the petitioners requested that AIQ Round 3 candidates be allowed to participate in the stray round.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had issued notices to MCC, the National Medical Commission (NMC), the Union of India, and the Directorate of Medical Education (DME) Madhya Pradesh.
Meanwhile, on February 4, MCC extended the reporting period for AIQ Round 3 until February 7 in light of the ongoing litigation.
With the petition now dismissed, the NEET-PG counselling process is expected to continue as scheduled.
