Supreme Court stays HC Order transferring MD Seat from One medical College to Another, issues notice

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued a stay on the Telangana High Court order of transferring a postgraduate medical seat from one college to another through provisional admission and allowed the petitioner doctor (before the High Court) to appear for the final examination.

Even though the doctor had initially been admitted to the M.D. DVL course at MNR Medical College, later she filed a plea seeking transfer of the seat to Medicity College. 

Challenging the HC order, the Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences (KNRUHS) Registrar approached the Supreme Court bench.

Also Read: Seat Blocking Scam in Telangana: HC directs KNRUHS, NMC to transfer eligible candidate's seat from MNR to Mediciti

While considering the matter, the Apex Court bench Justices B.R.Gavai and AG Masih issued notices returnable in 3 weeks, Live Law has reported.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported about the issue when back in 2022, the High Court bench of Justices Abhinand Kumar Shavili and Namavarapu Rajeswara Rao had ordered in favour of the petitioner doctor.

The petitioner PG medical aspirant, Dr. Ganta Satvika Reddy completed her MBBS from Osmania Medical College back in 2019 and thereafter she appeared in the NEET-PG examination in 2021-2022. After securing 25,948 rank, she opted for the MD Dermatology seat at Medicity Medical College in Hyderabad as her Preference 4. MNR Medical College was at Preference No 5 for the petitioner student.

Approaching the High Court bench, the petitioner student had claimed that KNRUHS had refused to allow her participate in the stray vacancy counselling on April 30 as a part of a seat-blocking scam. Her counsel claimed that even though Mediciti Instititute was her fourth preference, the concerned seat was allotted to Dr. Kandakatla Mounika.

Dr. Mounika had already been allotted a seat in MS Ophthalmology in Mamatha Medical College, Khammam in the second round of counselling under the competent authority quota. Referring to this, the counsel for the petitioner argued that the concerned Dr. Mounika could not participate in the additional mop-up phase counselling without availing free exit before the prescribed time.

Reportedly, through the seat-blocking scam, some students who had already secured seats under the MQ-I and convenor quotas, were allowed to take part in the following rounds of counselling illegally. As a result, deserving candidates lost their chances. Later, those students blocking the seats would not join the concerned courses and those seats would be sold by the managements of private medical colleges between Rs 2 crore and Rs 3 crore. Previously, the aggrieved students had demanded a CBI probe for investigating such allegations of seat-blocking.

Back then, the HC bench had slammed the KNRUHS encouraging a multi-crore postgraduate medical seat-blocking scam. It had also provided relief to the student and directed KNRUHS and National Medical Commission (NMC) to transfer the concerned PG medical aspirant, from MNR Medical College to Mediciti Institute of Medical Sciences.

As per the latest media report by Live Law, the petitioner doctor thereafter filed a contempt plea alleging that the universities had not comlied with the High Court order dated October 27, 2022. While considering her plea, the High Court bench on December 20, 2024 directed the MNR University to make provisional admission of the student to Medicity University and allow her to participate in the final exams.

"The petitioner is directed to deposit two years academic fee i.e. Rs.13,00,000/- (Rupees thirteen lakhs only) per annum with the 1st respondent-University and on such deposit, the 1st respondent-University shall make provisional admission of the petitioner in the 2nd respondent-Mediciti Institute of Medical Sciences and permit the petitioner to participate in the final examinations, which are scheduled to be held from 02.01.2025 or any other subsequent date," the Court ordered.

However, the Court had also added that since the NMC had preferred an SLP before the Supreme Court challenging the October 27 order against the shifting of the petitioner doctor (before the High Court) to Medicity Medical College, the HC order would be subject to the order of the Apex Court.

Now, the top court bench on Wednesday i.e. January 8, 2024, stayed the Telangana High Court order dated December 20, 2024 and issued notice to the concerned authorities returnable in 3 weeks.

Also Read: Telangana High Court issues notice to NMC, State over reallocation of MBBS, PG medical students