TN medical officers slam state after SC orders restoration of 151 NEET SS seats
Chennai: The Tamil Nadu Medical Officers, which had earlier filed a separate writ petition in the Supreme Court in relation to the NEET super speciality case, have now slammed the Tamil Nadu government for the loss of 151 unfilled NEET SS seats, saying the situation arose because of poor handling of the case and negligence from the beginning.
The criticism came a day after the Supreme Court directed the Tamil Nadu government to revert the unfilled 151 NEET SS seats to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) by July 29, 2026 and asked the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) to complete the NEET SS 2025 counselling process within two weeks.
The Apex Court also ordered that the second round of NEET SS counselling should be conducted using the existing qualifying percentile, clarifying that if the qualifying percentile is reduced after the second round, 50% of such seats will be returned to the Tamil Nadu government, while the remaining 50% will be filled by the DGHS through subsequent rounds of counselling.
Following this, the Tamil Nadu Medical Officers Association (TNMOA) said that the government failed to properly defend the case and that none of the senior advocates appointed by the State government appeared before the Supreme Court during the hearing on July 28, 2026.
In its statement issued on July 29, TNMOA said the present situation is entirely the result of the State government’s legal and administrative failure. It reflects not only a failure to protect the rights of government doctors but also a serious lack of commitment towards safeguarding Tamil Nadu’s public healthcare system and future super speciality services.
The association said, as reported by The Hindu, this was a loss of 151 future super specialists who would have otherwise strengthened public health care and provided advanced medical care to the people of Tamil Nadu. The State government “hastily” conducted the second round of counselling and announced that 151 seats reserved for service doctors were vacant even before the All India second round of counselling.
"In the case filed by a non-service doctor, the State government failed to appoint a senior advocate in time and engaged counsel at the last moment and failed to effectively present arguments defending our rights. Most importantly, the counsel appearing on behalf of the government conceded before the court that 151 seats would be surrendered, which resulted in the Supreme Court’s order dated May 29 to transfer our seats to AIQ. Although an appeal was filed against the said judgement due to political pressure, it remained a mere formality and didn’t come up for hearing till now," the association said.
TNMOA’s general secretary M. Akilan mentioned that they have repeatedly urged the Tamil Nadu government to pass a special resolution in the Legislative Assembly to safeguard the State’s super speciality seats from being surrendered to the AIQ. But the government did not act on that request as well.
The association also referred to an oral observation made by Justice B.V. Nagarathna during an earlier hearing, where the judge reportedly questioned how government doctors, who continue to perform official duties, could compete with candidates preparing full-time for the NEET SS examination. TNMOA said the State government failed to build its arguments around this observation during the latest hearing.
"Senior advocate P. Wilson had appeared on behalf of TNMOA. The Tamil Nadu government had engaged senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi in the contempt petition filed against it. Despite the Health Secretary issuing orders appointing senior advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Prashant to appear in the crucial hearing concerning the 151 seats following repeated requests from government doctors, none of the senior advocates appeared before the court yesterday. As a result, the court found itself searching for the senior counsel to answer the Bench’s questions during the hearing," TNMOA stated.
"Despite two earlier judgements recognising Tamil Nadu government’s authority to regulate medical admissions and provide a separate channel for in-service candidates and upholding 50% reservation for in-service government doctors, the State failed during yesterday’s hearing to firmly advance the fundamental argument that these 151 seats constitute Tamil Nadu’s exclusive in-service quota and cannot legally be diverted to the AIQ," it said.
The association said that year after year, the Union government has been using its authority to divert seats earmarked for Tamil Nadu government doctors, thereby eroding the State’s rights. Such actions represent a clear instance of arbitrary exercise of power against the principles of federalism.
Health Minister Calls Verdict a 'Historic' Win
Tamil Nadu Health Minister K.G. Arunraj called the Supreme Court's order as a "historic" judgment and credited it to the State government's timely legal action and arguments presented before the court.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event organised by the Tamil Nadu Medical Council (TNMC), the Minister said that in previous years, vacant super speciality seats reserved for in-service candidates had to be surrendered to the All India Quota (AIQ) because no proper legal steps were taken to protect them.
"With Tuesday’s verdict, if seats remain vacant after the second round of counselling, DGHS cannot reduce the percentile and fill the vacant seats on its own. If they decide to reduce the cut-off, 50% of the unfilled seats should be reverted to the State pool," he said.
Doctors Still Concerned Over Impact
Despite the Supreme Court's order, a section of government doctors remains concerned about its practical impact.
Since all important seats such as Cardiology, Surgical Gastroenterology, Vascular Surgery and Nephrology will be filled during the second round of All India counselling, the doctors pointed out that if seats remain vacant and the percentile is reduced, service candidates may get seats such as in Cardiothoracic Surgery and Paediatric Surgery. In fact, some seats in these specialities have remained vacant for the past few years.
A senior government doctor also pointed to a declining interest among service doctors in the NEET Super Speciality examination.
The doctor told The Hindu, "The number of service doctors appearing for the NEET Super Speciality examination has dropped, and those opting for difficult super speciality branches have also reduced due to lack of promotional opportunities, reduced super speciality posts and absence of financial increments."
