High Court Ensures Merit-Based Allocation of Vacant NRI PG Seats
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has taken note of the state's assurance that unfilled NRI quota seats in private medical colleges will be included in the general category during the final round of NEET-PG 2024 counseling. This move aims to prevent seat wastage and ensure merit-based allocation.
A division bench comprising Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Justice Devnarayan Mishra was hearing a petition filed by Dr. Khyati Shekhar, who had sought the inclusion of 48 vacant NRI seats in the general quota. The plea emphasized that these seats, which remained unfilled after the initial counseling rounds, should be allotted to deserving candidates based on merit.
Read Also: - Supreme Court Declares Domicile-Based Reservations in PG Medical Admissions Unconstitutional
Dr. Khyati Shekhar, a general category candidate, secured a state rank of 936, with a state percentile of 87.25 and a NEET percentile of 87.27. Based on these scores, she expected to secure a seat in a private medical college in Madhya Pradesh. However, despite her strong ranking, she was denied a seat due to the 48 NRI seats being blocked by ineligible candidates.
The petitioner contended that:
The authorities were deliberately keeping NRI seats vacant rather than allocating them to meritorious candidates.
Read Also:- Supreme Court's Stern Remark on Madhya Pradesh Government's Delay in Filing Petitions
As per Supreme Court and Madhya Pradesh High Court rulings, unfilled NRI seats should be transferred to the general quota.
The Director of Medical Education (DME) was not enforcing these rules, leading to unfair seat allocation.
The plea also referenced previous court decisions, including Index Medical College, Hospital & Research Centre v. State of Madhya Pradesh (2021) and Dr. Yogyata Marothi (W.P. No. 28721 of 2023), which had emphasized that unclaimed NRI seats must be allocated based on merit.
Read Also:- NIA Rejects MP Engineer Rashid’s Interim Bail Plea in UAPA Case at Delhi High Court
The State of Madhya Pradesh, represented by Additional Advocate General Smt. Janhavi Pandit, defended its position by citing Rule 14(A)(2) of the Madhya Pradesh Medical Education Admission Rules, 2018. According to this rule:
"In case the NRI seats are left vacant, the same are to be included in the last round (mop-up round) in the General Category and are to be filled on the basis of merit-cum-choice."
The court noted and recorded this assurance. The state government confirmed that any remaining vacant NRI seats would be transferred to the general category in the mop-up round, ensuring they are allotted strictly on the basis of merit.
Read Also:- Chhattisgarh High Court Slams Road Birthday Celebrations: Calls for Strict Action Against Public Nuisance
After the state’s commitment, the petitioner's counsel sought to withdraw the plea, which was permitted by the court. The bench dismissed the petition as withdrawn, noting that the government was bound by its statement to ensure that:
No NRI seat remains unfilled due to administrative delays.
All vacant NRI seats will be reallocated in the final round of counseling based on merit.
