NEET-PG: Supreme Court mandates pre-counselling fee disclosure by universities
Expressing concern over widespread seat blocking in postgraduate medical admissions, the Supreme Court has mandated pre-counselling fee disclosure by all private and deemed universities for NEET-PG.
A Bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan said the malpractice of seat blocking distorted the actual availability of seats, fostered inequity among aspirants, and often reduced the process to one governed more by chance than merit.
"Seat blocking is not merely an isolated wrongdoing – it reflects deeper systemic flaws rooted in fragmented governance, lack of transparency, and weak policy enforcement. Although regulatory bodies have introduced disincentives and technical controls, the core challenges of synchronisation, real-time visibility, and uniform enforcement remain largely unaddressed," the Bench's April 29 order said.
The verdict added, "Achieving a truly fair and efficient system will require more than policy tweaks; it demands structural coordination, technological modernisation, and robust regulatory accountability at both state and Central levels."
The top court, as a result, directed implementation of a nationally synchronised counselling calendar to align All India Quota and state rounds and prevent seat blocking across systems.
"Mandate pre-counselling fee disclosure by all private/deemed universities, detailing tuition, hostel, caution deposit, and miscellaneous charges. Establish a centralised fee regulation framework under the National Medical Commission," it said.
The Bench further ordered authorities to enforce strict penalties for seat blocking including forfeiture of security deposit, disqualification from future NEET-PG exams and blacklisting complicit colleges.
"Permit upgrade windows post-round two for admitted candidates to shift to better seats without reopening counselling to new entrants. Publish raw scores, answer keys and normalisation formulae for transparency in multi-shift NEET-PG exams," the order said.
The top court's judgement came on a plea filed by UP government and the director general of Medical Education & Training, Lucknow, challenging an order passed by the Allahabad High Court in 2018.
The High Court had directed the director general to give compensation to two aggrieved students who had appeared in the NEET PG exams and take action against blocking of seats.
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The Hindu
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