New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India came down heavily upon the Medical Counselling Committee on Wednesday, stating that leaving seats in NEET-PG vacant not only puts aspirants into difficulty but also leads to dearth of qualified doctors. Approximately 1,456 seats have remained vacant from May onwards.

A Bench comprising Justices MR Shah and Aniruddha Bose was hearing a plea seeking a Special Stray Round of counselling to allow the candidates to participate for vacant seats available after the conduct of a stray vacant round of All India Quota.

The petition was preferred by the doctors who appeared in NEET-PG 2021 and participated in rounds 1 and 2 of All India Quota (AIQ) Counselling and State Quota Counselling which was followed by All India Mop-Up and State Mop-Up Rounds.

The Bench expressed its reservation over addition of seats in the middle of counselling process. It orally remarked, Stating that the ASG is unavailable today and that an affidavit in response explaining all the circumstances will be placed on record, the counsel for MCC sought one day’s time.