New SC Order : DGHS to do the counselling for All India Quota Seats

New Delhi: Common counselling to all-India quota and state quota seats is to be conducted by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) and the state government (or designated authority), respectively, a new Supreme Court Order has held

The order has been passed by the bench comprising Justice Dipak Misra and Justice AM Khanwilkar, who have given the interim directions with regard to admissions in medical colleges across the country, while responding to the plea filed by Dar-Us-Slam Educational Trust.

Another important direction include that the DGHS would be conducting the counselling of deemed university, including those run by religious and linguistic minorities. Having said that the court has clarified that Common counselling conducted by the DGHS/State Government will not in any manner affect the rights of minority institutions to admit students of their respective minority community.

Following are the directives that has been issued by the honorable court

1. Common Counselling for State Quota seats in Government as well as Private Medical Colleges including colleges/institutions run by religious and linguistic minorities affiliated to State Universities shall be conducted by the State Government or the authority designated by the State Government. The notification issued by the State Government intimating the students about the Common Counselling must specify that at the time of counselling the students belonging to minority community will be required to furnish the necessary proof regarding their minority status and submit in writing about their willingness to take admission in the concerned minority college/institution


2. As per the judgment of this Hon'ble Court in the case of Ashish Ranjan vs. Union of India & Ors. [(2016) 11 SCC 225], there shall be only two rounds of common counselling each conducted by the DGHS/State Government or authority designated by the State Government for All India Quota (including Deemed University) and State Quota seats respectively.


3. After the second round of counselling for All India Quota seats, the students who take admission in All India Quota seats should not be allowed/permitted to vacate the seats. This would ensure that very few seats are reverted to the State Quota and also All India Quota seats are filed by students from the all India merit list only. The students who take admission and secure admission in Deemed Universities pursuant to the second round of counselling conducted by the DGHS shall not be eligible to participate in any other counselling.


4. The notification to be issued by the DGHS and the State Government notifying Common Counselling should also provide the fee structure of Deemed Universities and Private Medical Colleges. The DGHS/ tate Government should also obtain the consent of the students regarding their willingness to pay the fees provided in the notification and take admission in the Deemed Universities and Private Medical Colleges.


5. The students who secure admission in MBBS course pursuant to the Common Counselling conducted by the State Government, at the time of common counselling itself, should be made to deposit with the admission/cousnelling committee the Demand Draft towards the fees payable to the institution College/ University. The admission/counselling committee shall forthwith forward the Demand Draft to the respective Institution/Colleges/University. The necessity for including the above-mentioned requirement has arisen as it has been time and again noticed that when students report to the college after the counselling they are refused admission by the colleges on some pretext or the other and it is shown by the college as if the student never reported to the college for admission. If the Demand Draft is deposited by the admission/counselling committee then there would be no scope for colleges to refuse admission to any student.


6. In order to ascertain the number of seats that still remain vacant after the counselling the State Government or the authority designated by the State Government shall conduct manual counselling for allotment of students. After the completion counseling, the State Government shall determine the number of seats that are still vacant and thereafter shall forward a list of students in order of merit, equaling to ten times the number of vacant seats to the medical college so that in case of any stray vacancy arising in any college the said seat may be filled up from the said list.


7. In the applications submitted by the students belonging to the minority community they should confirm their minority status as well as the fact that they fulfill other conditions which may be prescribed by the minority institutions. Accordingly, the DGHS as well as the State Government shall prepare a separate list of minority students seeking admissions in the respective minority institutions in order of merit. The competent authorities of the College present during counselling shall check/verify the minority status of the candidate. This arrangement is only meant for the State Quota.


8. During the common counselling conducted by the State Government, the representatives of the medical colleges particularly representative of minority institutions should be a part of the admission/counselling committee as the case may be.


9. Common counselling conducted by the DGHS/State Government will not in any manner affect the rights of minority institutions to admit students of their respective minority community. The minority quota seats, if any, in institutions run by minorities will be filled up by minority students only. Therefore, the rights of minority institutions are fully protected.

The court further added Needless to say this arrangement will not apply to the States of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Jammun & Kashmir. As far as the other States are concerned,this arrangement shall apply to all the colleges unless this Court has passed any different or separate order.

Next Hearing is on 13.9.2017.

Attached is the judgement