86 MBBS Seats Lying Vacant, Tamil Nadu to move Supreme Court

Chennai: Taking up the issue of 86 vacant MBBS seats, Tamil Nadu Government is now planning to move Supreme Court seeking permission from the Union Government to let the State Government fill up these seats.

Confirmation in this regard came from the State Health Minister of Tamil Nadu, Ma Subramanian. The Minister further informed that previously the State Government had written to the Union Government to either hold another round of counselling or allow the State to fill up the seats. However, the State did not receive any response from the Centre.

The deadline for MBBS admission closed on September 30. Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that a total number of 86 MBBS seats were lying vacant in Tamil Nadu even after the closure of the MBBS admission deadline. 

Among these 86 MBBS seats, 16 MBBS seats belonged to the Government-run medical colleges, 3 seats were in All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Madurai, 50 MBBS seats were in Deemed Universities and 17 other seats were in self-financing medical colleges.

Even after four rounds of online counselling by the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) under the Directorate-General of Health Services in New Delhi and the State Selection Committee under the Directorate of Medical Education in Tamil Nadu, these MBBS seats could not be filled.

Also Read: Altogether 86 MBBS Seats Lying Vacant, Tamil Nadu urges Union Govt for Another Round of Counselling

In an attempt to save these MBBS seats, the Tamil Nadu State Government recently wrote to the Central Government seeking an extension of counselling deadline and return of unfilled seats to the State.

Writing to the Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, the State Health Minister of Tamil Nadu Ma Subramanian requested to return all these vacant MBBS seats to the State quota.

Commenting on the matter, State Health Minister Ma Subramanian informed The Hindu, "We had written a letter to urge the Union government to either hold another round of counselling or let the State government fill up the seats. We have not received a response to the letter yet. The Health Secretary is in touch with the higher officials."

Meanwhile, the State is planning to approach the Supreme Court and file a plea seeking permission from the Central Government to fill up these vacant MBBS seats. Confirming this, Minister Subramanian further pointed out that while only six MBBS seats were vacant last year, the number increased to 86 vacant seats this year.

Referring to the plans of filing a plea in the Supreme Court, the Minister further informed The Hindu that the Health Department officials submitted a report to the Advocate General (AG). "We are exploring the possibility of filing a petition in the Supreme Court. We have asked the AG about filing an interlocutory application (IA). When we receive a response in two to three days, we will file the IA in the Supreme Court after informing the Union government that we are filing a case seeking surrender of the 86 vacant seats to the State government," added the Minister.

Also Read: Either Unfilled or Cancelled: MBBS vacant seat count may surpass 2000 seats this year