NEET PG: Doctors move Supreme Court demanding free exit after AIQ Round 2 Counselling

New Delhi: Challenging the practice of imposing penalty on doctors for leaving seats in the middle of counselling, several aspirants of NEET-PG 2021, the centralized common entrance test for admission to postgraduate medical courses, have recently approached the Supreme Court and sought permission for free exit from the already joined seats pursuant to the 2nd round of counseling in the All India Quota seats.

Apart from challenging the penalty, the petitioners have further sought directions so that candidates who desire to resign or vacate seats joined during the 2nd round of AIQ counselling are allowed to exit without paying the penalty and those vacant seats get added up to the stray vacancy round, other special rounds of counselling, or in the subsequent NEET-PG counselling.

Although the petition was primarily listed before the top court bench comprising of Justices LN Rao and B R Gavai, the bench on Monday directed the petitioners to take up the matter before the bench comprising of Justice Chandrachud, adds Live Law.

Also Read: Dr NTR University of Health Sciences informs on free exit for Management Quota MBBS candidates, Details

Filing the plea through Advocate Salvador Santosh Rebello, the petitioners contended that imposition of such penalty on a student who exits the seat immediately without actually working there, or a student who has recently joined, violates Article 14 and Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

"Respondent States levy such huge and hefty penalties under a fallacious pretext that if a candidate is permitted to exit or leave a seat after joining the same goes waste and therefore the aforesaid hefty penalty is levied. However, it is submitted that such seats can always be put up in the stray round and / or any special round of counseling and / or in the subsequent NEET – PG counseling," read the petition.

It has been argued by the petitioners that such seats left by the students would not get wasted even if the States stop imposing penalties. They contended that such seats can be put up in the stray round and / or any special round of counseling and / or in the subsequent NEET – PG counseling.

At this outset, the petition was quoted stating by Live Law, "The said seat can always be put up in the next rounds i.e NEET PG 2022 – 2023, and or the subsequent exam proposed to be conducted in the month of May 2022. Imposing of huge, hefty penalties are arbitrary and harsh on the students who desire to avail the best seats for advancing their medical career and serve the nation and humankind."

The petitioners are being represented by Senior Advocate Siddharth Luthra along with Advocates Anmol Kheta, Tanya Srivastava , Raghav Sharma, and Mitali Gupta.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that a group of doctors recently moved to the Supreme Court as they alleged seat blocking and sought permission from the Apex Court to participate in the mop-up round of counselling with a free exit option.

Also Read: Seat Blocking: Doctors move SC seeking permission to appear in NEET PG Mop-up Round