‘Changing seats in final round violates rules’:MP High Court orders NRI quota allotment in NEET PG counselling

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has directed that if NRI quota seats in medical colleges remain vacant and applications have been received, they must be allotted before the next hearing. The order was passed on Wednesday while hearing a petition related to the NEET PG matter. The court has also sought a response from the Medical Education Department within two weeks. Advocate Hemendra Jain, appearing on behalf of petitioner Dr Abhi Sharma, said the Indore Bench of the High Court observed that there may be one or more rounds of admissions. However, in the final mop-up round or any stray vacancy round, NRI seats must be offered to eligible applicants. Argument based on Medical Education rules Jain stated that the petitioner’s argument was based on Rule 14(a)(2) of the MP Medical Education Rules 2018–2019. Under this provision, every private medical college reserves 15 per cent of seats under the NRI quota. If NRI candidates are available, these seats cannot be converted into the general category prematurely. Eligible NRI applicants must be considered until the last round of counselling. The court took note of the submission and issued directions accordingly. Dispute over conversion of NRI seats The controversy arose during NEET PG Counselling 2026 regarding NRI quota seats. NRI candidates objected to a decision by the Directorate of Medical Education (DME) to convert unfilled NRI seats into the general quota during the fourth mop-up round. Challenging this decision, affected candidates filed a writ petition before the High Court, arguing that the conversion was contrary to the prescribed rules. Senior counsel alleges violation of rights Senior Advocate Ajay Bagadia submitted that, under existing regulations, NRI candidates are eligible for admission under the NRI quota during the first round, second round and mop-up round. Despite this, the DME converted the remaining NRI seats into the general quota in the fourth mop-up round. He contended that this move adversely affected the constitutional and statutory rights of eligible NRI students. According to him, converting seats to the general category prematurely is not only contrary to established rules but also violates principles of natural justice. The High Court has now directed that if seats remain vacant and applications are pending, they must be allotted to eligible NRI candidates before the next date of hearing. The matter will be taken up again after the Medical Education Department files its reply within the stipulated two-week period.