In a significant development, the Supreme Court has permitted counselling for 49 postgraduate medical seats at the Hamdard Institute of Medical Sciences & Research (HIMSR) for the academic year 2025–26. The apex court also directed the National Medical Commission (NMC) to include these seats in all rounds of NEET PG counselling to ensure that they are not left vacant.
The order was passed on January 27 by a Bench comprising Justice B. V. Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan. The court noted that counselling for postgraduate candidates who appeared in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and secured ranks is scheduled to commence from January 29, making immediate intervention necessary.
According to the court’s observations, candidates aspiring to pursue postgraduate courses at HIMSR should be given the opportunity to participate in counselling from the very first round, strictly on the basis of their NEET merit. The Bench emphasised that delaying or excluding these seats from the counselling process could result in a loss of valuable academic opportunities for eligible students.
The matter reached the Supreme Court due to uncertainty over the inclusion of these seats, as the consent of affiliation had not been issued by Jamia Hamdard. This had created confusion regarding whether the 49 postgraduate seats could be included in the counselling process for the current academic session.
Taking note of the urgency of the counselling schedule, the court observed that immediate directions were required in the larger interest of students. Submissions made on behalf of the NMC indicated that the commission would abide by any order passed by the court, subject to the final outcome of the case.
After hearing senior counsels representing the university, the regulator, and other stakeholders, the Supreme Court allowed the counselling process to proceed without delay. The Bench specifically directed the NMC to include the 49 postgraduate seats in the official seat matrix of HIMSR so that eligible candidates can be allotted seats during the counselling rounds.
The court also highlighted that if these seats were not permitted to be filled, all 49 postgraduate seats would go to waste for the academic year 2025–26. Such an outcome, the Bench noted, would be unfair to NEET-qualified candidates awaiting admission. The directions, the court clarified, were issued to safeguard the larger interest of eligible students and to prevent the loss of precious medical seats.
According to the latest schedule published by MCC on January 15, the third round seat allotment result is scheduled to be declared on January 29.