NEET counselling 2026: MCC directs states to weed out joined AIQ candidates before round 3 seat processing
New Delhi: The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) has issued an notice directing all State Counselling Authorities to exclude candidates who have already joined seats under the All India Quota (AIQ) up to Round 3 of the National Eligibility and Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET UG) counselling for the academic year 2026 before processing the third round of state counselling.
The directive aims to ensure that candidates who have already secured and joined seats through the AIQ are not allotted another seat through state counselling.
According to the notice, the reporting process for Round 3 of NEET UG 2026 counselling concluded on October 9, 2026. Following its completion, MCC has asked state authorities to verify the list of candidates who have joined AIQ seats and remove them from consideration before processing state Round 3 allotments.
The committee has issued the instructions in accordance with the directions of the Supreme Court of India in Contempt Petition (C) No. 289 of 2022 in Writ Petition No. 223 of 2022, Shubhankar Patnaik Vs. K. Ramesh Reddy & Ors.
Referring to the court's directions, MCC stated-
“As per directions of Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in Contempt Petition© No. 289 of 2022 in W.P. No. 223 of 2022, Shubhankar Patnaik Vs K. Ramesh Reddy & Ors., the filtering out of joined All India Quota candidates is mandatory before the stray vacancy round of state UG counselling.”
The notice reiterates the requirement to prevent candidates who have already joined AIQ seats from receiving another allotment through the state counselling process.
With Round 3 reporting under the All India Quota now completed, MCC has instructed state counselling authorities to carry out the necessary verification before proceeding with their respective Round 3 seat allotment processes.
The notice states:
“Hence, all state counselling authorities are requested to weed out the joined candidates of AIQ upto Round-3 before seat processing of Round-3 of state counselling so that candidates holding a seat in AIQ are not allotted any seat through state counselling.”
This means candidates who have already joined seats allotted through AIQ counselling up to Round 3 must be excluded from the state Round 3 seat processing exercise.
Therefore, to facilitate the verification process, MCC has informed state counselling authorities that they can download the list of allotted candidates from the committee's data-sharing portal.
State authorities have been asked to use this information to identify candidates who have already joined AIQ seats before proceeding with their own allotment processes.
The measure is intended to prevent overlapping seat allotments between the All India Quota and state counselling systems.
To view the notice, click the link below
https://medicaldialogues.in/pdf_upload/2026/10/10/mcc-directs-states-to-exclude-joined-aiq-candidates-before-neet-2026-round-3-seat-allotment-479081.pdf
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