NEET PG 2019: Let Counselling Continue but withhold results, Court tells DME

Madurai: NEET PG Counselling as scheduled shall go on, but the same shall not be finalised for a period of two weeks,” held the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court recently while in the interim staying the counselling process and ordering the Directorate of Medical Education (DME) not to publish the final list of the PG medical admissions.

The directive came in view of the petition by a Madurai-based Dr P Jeyakumar who is working as an Assistant Surgeon at the Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai since 2013. The doctor sought an interim stay on the counselling process and annulment of a certain clause in the recently notified incentive scheme in the state.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported about the order issued by the state health department which states that incentive marks will be awarded to the in-service NEET PG candidates for their service rendered in the remote difficult rural areas for admission to Post Graduate Medical Courses by considering their working places. These working places are segregated into three categories on the basis of difficulties in working at these places.

The clause against which the petitioner contended is the awarding of 10% of the marks secured in NEET per year of service to the Health Officers who are working in Tamil Nadu Public Health Services for getting a Post Graduate seat in MD (Community Medicine) alone.

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TOI reports about the case in which it states that the Dr Jeyakumar sought an interim stay on the counselling on the grounds that a government order passed on March 6 arbitrarily favours health officers working in municipalities and corporations.

Dr Jeyakumar prayed the court to “quash the same as illegal in so far as granting 10 percent of the marks secured in NEET per year of service to the Health Officers who are working in Tamil Nadu Health Services for getting a Post Graduate Seat in M.D(Community Medicine) in violation of the Regulation 9(2) of the Post Graduate Medical Education Regulations 2000 and the Judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in State of U.P Vs Dinesh Singh Chauhan reported in (2016) 9 SCC 749.” The petition mentioned:

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As mentioned in the report by TOI, the petitioner stated that this is in violation of the Postgraduate Medical Education Regulations 2000 and Supreme Court directions in the matter. The petitioner pointed out that for all these years, 10% of NEET marks secured by medical officers were awarded as an incentive and that he was of the impression that he would be eligible for the incentive.

However, by passing the GO, the department had categorized the working place for availing incentives under four categories - difficult areas in hills, difficult areas in plains, remote and rural areas. While the original regulations allow for incentive marks only to those in difficult and remote areas, the new category will favour health officers in municipalities and corporations and they do not fall under either difficult or remote areas.

Allowing the petition, the bench of honourable Justice R Mahadevan issued the notice to the DME not to publish the final list of the PG medical admissions.

“… Counselling as scheduled shall go on, but the same shall not be finalised for a period of two weeks. Call the matter after two weeks.”

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