SC issues notice to fill 41 vacant medical seats

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has on Tuesday asked the Karnataka Private Medical Colleges Association, the Dental Colleges Association and others to select eligible students, through counselling, for 41 available postgraduate medical seats and file before it the names of meritorious candidates selected, for its perusal.A Bench comprising Justice P Sathasivam and Justice A K Patnaik asked the association to file a report with all the relevant details, including the marks secured by the students, their ranks, and so on.The association has already filled 59 seats. Senior counsel Amarendra Sharan, appearing for the Medical Council of India (MCI), told the Bench that vacant seats were a result of the association’s mistake, and hence the said seats had lapsed. Moreover, the association had not given any reason for not filling up the seats in its petition, he pointed out.Sharan alleged that the association wants a high amount in exchange for the seats, unmindful of merit.Therefore, in the circumstances, these seats should be filled up by the State of Karnataka on the basis of merit, he suggested.He further alleged that the colleges were flouting the admission norms and demanding larger donations from candidates.Senior counsel Dushyant Dave, appearing for the petitioners, denied the allegations.The Bench said that the admission of all 41 seats in private medical colleges would be subject to the final outcome of the matter pending before the Bench.It was on June 24 that the Supreme Court had issued notices to the Union Health Ministry, Medical Council of India and the Rajiv Gandhi Medical University on a writ petition jointly filed by the Karnataka Private Medical Colleges Association, Dental Colleges Association and M S Ramaiah Medical College, Bangalore.The petitioners stated that because of the delayed admission process, the association could conduct only one round of counselling and thus, 41 seats remain vacant in these institution