One additional Special Stray Round of counselling may affect the admission process for NEET-PG-2022, notes SC

New Delhi [India], June 10 (ANI): The Supreme Court on Friday observed that if one additional Special Stray Round of counselling is conducted now, as prayed, that case, it may affect the admission process for NEET-PG-2022 and remarked that the decision of the Union Government and the Medical Counselling Committee not to have Special Stray Round of counselling is in the interest of medical education and public health.
The top court also remarked that "there cannot be any compromise with the merits and/or quality of Medical Education, which may ultimately affect the Public Health."
"The decision of the Union Government and the Medical Counselling Committee not to have Special Stray Round of counselling is in the interest of Medical Education and Public Health, " the apex court said.
The vacation bench of Justices MR Shah and Aniruddha Bose's observation came while dismissing pleas seeking to conduct a Special Stray Round of counselling to allow the candidates to contest for the vacant seats which are available after the conduct of the stray vacancy round of All India Quota (AIQ).
"The process of admission and that too in the medical education cannot be endless. It must end at a particular point in time. The time the schedule has to be adhered to, otherwise, ultimately, it may affect the
medical education and public health, " the Court said.
"Apart from the fact that after the closure of the last round of counselling on May 7, 2022, the entire software mechanism has been closed and the security deposit is refunded to the eligible candidates, it is to be noted that the admission process for NEET-PG-2022 has already begun, the results for the NEET-PG-2022 has been announced on 01.06.2022 and as per the time schedule, the counselling process is going to start in July 2022," the Court said.
"Therefore, if one additional Special Stray Round of counselling is conducted now, as prayed, in that case, it may affect the admission process for NEET-PG-2022."
The Court noted that even after eight to nine rounds of counselling, out of 40,000 seats, 1456 seats have remained vacant, out of which approximately, more than 1100 seats are
non-clinical seats, which every year remain vacant.
The Court held that the petitioners are not entitled to any relief of a Writ of Mandamus directing the respondents to conduct a Special Stray Round of counselling for filling up the remaining vacant seats of NEET-PG-2021.
"Granting of such relief now may affect the medical education and ultimately the public health," the Court said and dismissed four separate petitions seeking a similar kind of relief.
The Court also remarked that the decision is taken by the Union Government/the Medical Counselling Committee, not to conduct a further Special Stray Round of counselling, which cannot be said as arbitrary.
One of the petitions sought to provide the exact number of vacant seats after the conduct of the stray vacancy round of AQI and to conduct a Special Stray Round of counselling to allow the candidates to participate in the vacant seats which are available after the conduct of stray vacancy round of AQI.
Another petition sought to direct respondents to The Medical Consulting Committee and the Union of India to revert the Medical P.G. seats remaining vacant after the AQI stray vacancy round as regards the admissions conducted pursuant to the NEET-PG-2021 examination to the State Quotas, for being allotted through State Mop-Up Rounds. The third and Fourth petitions were special leave petitions challenging respective High Courts orders which have dismissed the writ petitions. (ANI)