The Supreme Court has ordered the Tamil Nadu government to assign half of the super-specialty positions to applicants who have taken the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test and are currently employed.

On Friday, the Supreme Court allowed the Tamil Nadu government to assign half of the super-speciality positions in government medical universities to in-service candidates who have passed NEET for the current academic year. Justices B R Gavai and Vikram Nath ordered the state government to fill these positions as per their November 7, 2020 government order within a timeframe of 15 days. The state government showed strong support for the 2020 government order on the Super Specialty seats.

The government of Tamil Nadu has approached this court asking for clarification of a court order from March 16, 2022, concerning the application of the order to all following academic years until the petitions have been processed. After listening to the counsels, the Additional Solicitor General stated that a lot of seats that were reserved for in-service candidates were not filled last year. She furthermore commented that super specialty courses are essential national resources and should not be allowed to go to waste.

The bench acknowledged the ASG’s concern for a resolution to the issue, but decided that Tamil Nadu should be allowed to fill the seats for the current academic year based on the GO. The Supreme Court also ordered the state to inform the Union of India on the 16th day with regards to all the seats which have not been filled by in-service candidates.

The Supreme Court declared that the Union of India can fill the unoccupied seats based on the All India merit list and the case will be further discussed on February 14, 2023. The Additional Solicitor General, Aishwarya Bhati, reported that since 2016, there has been no preferential treatment in regards to super specialty courses. Additionally, the Additional Advocate General, Amit Anand Tiwari, informed the court on behalf of the Tamil Nadu government that they have submitted an interim request for clarification.

On March 16, the Supreme Court allowed the counselling process in 2021-22 to continue, giving 50 per cent of the super-speciality seats in government medical colleges to those who had qualified in NEET. The interim order of November 27, 2020, was vacated, which had stated that the counselling for admission to super-speciality medical courses in 2020-2021 should proceed without reserving any seats for in-service doctors. The Supreme Court is currently dealing with cases that have been brought up against the state government.