The Supreme Court of India has ordered Tamil Nadu to transfer 151 vacant super-specialty medical seats to the All India Quota (AIQ). This decision affects the NEET-SS 2025 admissions cycle.
Supreme Court Mandates Seat Transfer
A Supreme Court bench of Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe issued the directive on a writ petition. The court instructed the Tamil Nadu government to report these 151 vacant in-service super-specialty seats to the Director General of Health Services (DGHS).
The ruling aims to prevent these seats from remaining unfilled due to state reservation policies. They will now be exclusively available through the All India merit list via the AIQ. This action seeks to optimize the use of medical infrastructure and fill vacancies with qualified candidates from across the nation.
Legal Basis and Implications
The Supreme Court's decision draws upon a previous ruling in N. Karthikeyan & Ors. v. State of Tamil Nadu . That precedent allows Tamil Nadu to prioritize its service cadre. However, it mandates that any remaining seats after a specific period must be returned to the central pool.
The court clarified that this order applies to the current academic year's urgent circumstances. It is not intended to set a precedent for future policy decisions. The transfer of these seats ensures that meritorious candidates nationwide have a fair chance to access these specialized medical positions.
The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) will reportedly re-evaluate allocation matrices. This reassessment is necessary before Round 2 of admissions.
