New Delhi, April 15: The Supreme Court today ordered a first-time measure of a second round of counselling to fill vacant post-graduate medical seats in the all-India quota.

Every year, vacant seats were sought to be filled by the management of the medical college or the state government concerned.

Often, the two sides would clash over the rights to fill these seats and the case would reach the apex court almost every academic year.

This year, the division bench of Justices Y.K. Sabharwal and P.P. Naolekar ordered the directorate-general of health services to conduct additional counselling rather than leave the issue to the states or college managements to fight over.

The bench said the 239 vacant all-India seats ?should not revert to the states? without first trying to find candidates from the waiting list prepared by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, which conducted the national entrance test.

Advocate Indu Malhotra, appearing for a student petitioner, told the court that 30-40 per cent of the 2,700 quota seats reverted to the states as students opted out.