[NEET PG 2021] What will you gain by keeping seats vacant: Supreme Court to MCC

Disturbed and concerned with a spate of pleas before it highlighting vacant postgraduate (PG) medical seats, the Supreme Court on Wednesday hinted at the granting compensation to all such doctor-students jeopardised due to non-filling of vacant seats [Dr Atharv Tungatkar and ors vs Medical Counselling Committee and ors]..A bench of Justices MR Shah and Aniruddha Bose, after being informed that 1,456 seats in the All India Quota (AIQ) for PG courses are lying vacant, asked the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) to file an affidavit in this regard during the course of the day. "We have to pass orders on 2021-22 admissions. We will pass today. There are 1,000 seats vacant ... if students are not granted admissions then we will order compensation for the students. Bear it in mind. This is in mind keeping the extraordinary situation ... You have taken away the right of 1,000 students and now all 1,000 students will come to court," Justice Shah remarked. Pertinently, the Bench expressed its displeasure at the lack of a stray counselling or mop-up rounds conducted to fill up such vacancies, saying that that the authorities are playing with the lives of medical students.It directed the officers of the Directorate General of Health Services as well as the Additional Solicitor General to remain present in Court tomorrow when it is likely to pass orders after further hearing..The lawyer for the MCC submitted that another round at this stage would affect the 2022 students and have a cascading effect. The Bench was, however, not impressed."You came to know about vacant seats in May. Why did you not have another mop-up round? What will you get by keeping seats vacant when we need doctors and super specialists? Is there a responsibility or not?!" Before passing the order, Justice Shah remarked, "You have taken away the right of 1,000 students and now all 1,000 students will come to court. You have taken away their future. Where are we leading ? Why there is no streamlining process, and stress [in] the education system? Do you know stress level of students?"The Court in its order stated that the affidavit by the MCC should explain why seats are being kept vacant and not filled. The Bench also stated it will consider other vacancy-related pleas in medical institutions as well. .What will you get by keeping seats vacant when we need doctors and super specialists?Supreme Court .The apex court was hearing pleas filed by medical students seeking a special stray round of counselling to fill vacant postgraduate (PG) medical seats under the All-India Quota (AIQ) in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test 2021 (NEET 2021).The pleas sought directions to be issued to the Central government to disclose the number of vacant AIQ seats after an earlier stray counselling round.The plea filed through advocate Milind Kumar, instructed by Dubey Law Associates, stated that the petitioners had participated in rounds 1 and 2 of AIQ Counselling and State quota counselling which was followed by All India mop-up and State mop-up rounds. However, they could not secure seats in any of the rounds till date.However, through responses to a Right to Information (RTI) application, the petitioners got to know that there are still vacant seats under the AIQ. Subsequently, representations were made to concerned authorities to conduct an additional stray round in the interests of students and colleges, but to no avail, the plea added.The plea, therefore, asked that the top court to issue a writ of mandamus to:a) to direct respondent, Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) to provide the exact number of vacant seats after the conduct of stray vacancy round of AIQ;b) to direct respondent to conduct a special stray round of counselling to allow the candidates to participate for the vacant seats which are available after the conduct of stray vacancy round of AIQ;The plea pointed out that similar stray rounds were conducted for undergraduate medical seats and hence not doing it for PG courses is unjust and arbitrary..[Follow our coverage of today's hearing]