Madras HC stays seat allotment in PG Medical courses

Chennai: The Madras High Court today directed the Director General of Health Services and state selection committee not to allot seats for PG medical courses in the state to any student, both under the all India quota and state quota, until further orders.

The authorities can go on with the counselling process, but shall not allot seats till further orders, Justice S Vaidyanathan said.

The judge passed the interim order on a batch of pleas, including those moved by in-service candidates.

The petitioners sought a direction to DGHS to comply with Post Graduate Medical Education Regulations in admissions to PG medical courses and award due weightage marks for service rendered in remote/difficult areas and to reserve 50 per cent seats for such service candidates under All India quota.

According to C Sudhan and six others, they are in-service candidates working as assistant surgeons in Tamil Nadu Medical Services.

They have appeared for 'NEET PG 2018' and secured more than 50 percent marks and thereby declared as eligible for admission to PG medical courses.

"The places we serve are notified as remote/difficult areas by the state government and thereby we are entitled for additional weightage marks as per Regulation 9 (IV) of PG Regulations 2000 under all India quota seats."

"But authorities are proceeding to conduct counselling for admissions to PG courses without awarding such weightage marks for in-service candidates," they said.

They claimed that the move was in violation of Medical Council of India regulations.

It would affect the interest of the petitioners, who were entitled for weightage marks for service rendered by them in remote/difficult areas for determination of merit in selection, it was submitted.

They claimed that even in admissions made during the last academic year, authorities have failed to allot the mandated 50 percent seats to service candidates as required by the regulations.