Petition in SC on NRI Registration for NEET Mop-Up Round

Petition in SC on NRI Registration for NEET Mop-Up Round

Recently, the Supreme Court issued a notice granting special permission to the Non-Resident Indian (NRI) quota students which allowed “fresh registrations” by these candidates for the NEET Exam 2022 Mop-Up Round.

“The respondent state shall place before this Court, the up-to-date position in regard to the seats if any that remain unfilled after the mop-up round of counseling” - said the Apex Court 

The matter will be further be heard tomorrow i.e. on 22nd April 2022.

Things that Transpired in the “High Court” Before This

The Kerala High Court had earlier given an order denying any extra time for NRI students to register afresh for the NEET Mop-Up Round. In their defense, the petitioners i.e. the Kerala Private Medical College Management Association claimed that after 2 rounds of counseling, the NRI Rank list of “618 members” got exhausted.

However, 57 NRI quota seats still lay vacant in the colleges as of the date of filing the petition. The petitioners contended that more time should be given to NRI students to fill the remaining vacancies as many were unable to do so in the allotted time, thanks to the pandemic restrictions. Besides, the money collected by them is used for the benefit of the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) students.

Finally, the Kerala HC Bench claimed that extra time CAN NOT be given as the NRI students were given enough time to do the needful. The Ext. Pt. 2 was published as early as 24th December 2021 and the admission deadline was 8th April 2022.

Things that Transpired in the “Supreme Court” Before This

Dissatisfied with the High Court decision, the case went to the Supreme Court to demand time for NRI students to register before the Mop-up could begin. 

Counsel for the petitioners Senior Adv. Dushyant Dave referred to the 2012 judgment of the apex court which said that NRI quota seats cannot be converted to those of any other quota, which was also stated after clause 5.5.4 of the prospectus. Such an action can only be taken for the seats under “Special Reservation” and NRI seats DO NOT come under that.

Furthermore, it was also highlighted that 46 NRI quota seats were still unfilled but no one was informed regarding the same. The senior counsel requested the bench to issue a notice in the matter. 

After hearing the case, the Supreme Court has currently issued a notice to hear the case further. In the meanwhile, it has asked the respondents/petitioners to give an updated look at the seats that remain unfilled even after the NEET Exam 2022 mop-up round.

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