The Supreme Court has reaffirmed that all medical counselling rounds, including stray vacancy rounds, must be conducted only through online mode to prevent seat blocking and protect the merit-based admission process. This decision came while addressing concerns over fairness and transparency in medical admissions.
Brief Facts:
The case arose amidst concerns of manipulation in medical admission processes, particularly involving offline stray vacancy rounds which were allegedly used by institutions to indulge in malpractices such as seat blocking and arbitrary allotment. Over the years, the Medical Council of India (MCI), and later the National Medical Commission (NMC), received directions from the Supreme Court and took several regulatory steps to make the admission process transparent, fair, and merit-based. In view of these developments, the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) sought directions from the Supreme Court to mandate online counselling across all rounds, including the stray round for Deemed Universities.
Contentions of the Respondent Counsel:
The senior counsel representing the MCI/NMC contended that several reforms had already been implemented following earlier Supreme Court orders. These included amendments to postgraduate and undergraduate medical education regulations, mandating common counselling by the State or Central authorities. It was submitted that the shift to online counselling was crucial, as offline modes allowed room for malpractices. The counsel emphasized that the modified scheme, involving four rounds of counselling (Round 1, Round 2, Mop-up, and Stray Vacancy), had been approved by the Court and was already being followed since the academic year 2021-22. It was argued that permitting students to vacate seats after Round 2 would undermine the merit system, and hence stricter online protocols were necessary.
Observation of the Court:
The Apex Court observed that, “The modified scheme of online four rounds of counselling will be in tune with the prevailing norms... There will not be an option of upgradation to Mop-up round from Round 2. Candidates who have joined the allotted seat in Round 2 and further rounds... will not be allowed to resign and will also be ineligible to take part in further rounds of any type of counselling.”
The Court took note of the evolving regulatory framework and recognized that both MCI and NMC had progressively moved towards online counselling to prevent abuse. The Court appreciated that NMC, by exercising its statutory powers under the NMC Act, 2019, had introduced detailed guidelines through the Graduate and Postgraduate Medical Education Regulations, 2023. These rules mandated online common counselling for all MBBS and PG medical admissions and also required colleges to disclose their fee structures to enhance transparency.
The Court further noted that, “Offline stray vacancy counselling is detrimental to the merit system and enables exploitation. The move to online-only counselling is essential to protect the interests of meritorious students and maintain public confidence in the admission process.”
The Court highlighted that allowing students to vacate seats in the final round of counselling could lead to wastage of seats and unjust exclusion of deserving candidates. Thus, strict compliance with the online procedure and counselling regulations was essential.
The decision of the Court:
In conclusion, the Top Court upheld the NMC’s decision mandating that all States and Colleges conduct the stray round of counselling exclusively through online mode starting from the academic year 2023-24. The Court disposed of the petitions, reiterating that the modified four-round counselling scheme, with its provisions on registration, upgradation, resignation, and forfeiture, shall govern medical admissions for both undergraduate and postgraduate courses across India. Pending applications, if any, were also disposed of accordingly.
Case Title: State of U.P. & Anr. vs. Miss Bhavna Tiwari & Ors.
Case No: SLP (c) No. 9298 of 2018
Coram: Justice J.B. Pardiwala, Justice R. Mahadevan
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