NEET PG Counselling: Supreme Court Takes Strict Action Against Seat Blockers, Issues Guidelines

The Supreme Court has taken a firm stand against candidates who block seats during the NEET PG counselling process but deliberately do not join, causing wastage of valuable medical seats. According to the court, such candidates will now be blacklisted and barred from participating in future medical entrance examinations. This decision was delivered by a bench comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan.

Key Highlights of the Supreme Court Decision

• Blacklisting of Candidates: Students who block seats but fail to join will be blacklisted.

• Disqualification: Blacklisted candidates will be barred from future medical entrance exams.

• Forfeiture of Security Fees: The security fees paid by such candidates will be confiscated.

• Action Against Colleges: Any medical college found participating in such malpractices will also be blacklisted.

• Transparency and Timeliness: The court emphasized the need for a transparent and time-bound counselling process to ensure merit-based admissions and prevent seat wastage.

What is Seat Blocking and Its Impact?

Seat blocking happens when a candidate temporarily accepts a seat in one college but leaves it once a preferred option becomes available in subsequent rounds. This leads to seats remaining vacant temporarily, which only get filled in later rounds. The biggest sufferers are the candidates who accepted less preferred seats early on and committed to them, as these seats get delayed in reallocation.

Other issues like delays in state counselling, last-minute addition or removal of seats, and lack of transparency in quotas and categories further exacerbate the problem.

Supreme Court’s Efforts to Reform Counselling

The court highlighted the unfairness of seat blocking towards meritorious students and pointed out that this practice leads to significant wastage of valuable medical seats. To address these challenges, the Supreme Court has issued detailed guidelines aimed at ensuring a smooth, transparent, and timely counselling process.

This ruling is expected to bring greater discipline to the NEET PG counselling process and promote fair opportunities for all medical aspirants.

For more updates on medical entrance exams and counselling, stay tuned.