To make the NEET PG 2025 admission process fairer, the Supreme Court has ordered universities to disclose all counselling-related fees before the counselling process. The decision is made to stop unfair practices like "seat blocking," where seats are held back unnecessarily, causing confusion and making the process unjust for students.
Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan of the Supreme Court noted that seat blocking leads to uncertainty about the number of open seats and changes the admission process from being merit-based to luck-based. Here’s what the Court has ordered:
Key Changes Announced by the Supreme Court
National Counselling Schedule: The counselling Schedule for NEET PG 2025 will be made on the basis of that All India Quota (AIQ) and state rounds. This will prevent seat blocking across different systems.
Pre-Counselling Fee Disclosure: All private and deemed universities must disclose the fee structure, including tuition, hostel charges, caution deposit, and other expenses, before counselling starts.
Fee Regulation by NMC: The National Medical Commission (NMC) will create a centralised system to regulate and control fees charged by universities, which will make a fair decision so that no university can increase the fee.
Seat Upgradation: If students want to shift their seats after the 2nd round of counselling to better options without the new process opening will get a chance if there is better option available.
Transparency in Admission: It is mentioned by the SC that exam marks, answer keys, and the marking scheme will be shared publicly so that every student can get a fair chance to review their marks.
Penalties for Seat Blocking: Any university that blocks seats will face serious punishments, like losing their security deposit, being banned from future NEET PG exams, and getting added to a black list.
Aadhaar-Based Seat Tracking: To stop students from holding multiple seats, Aadhaar will be used to track and ensure no one holds more than one seat at a time.
Accountability for Authorities: State authorities and universities will be responsible if they break the rules or delay counselling. The SC can take legal action against the university.
Standard Rules for Counselling: The Court has ordered that all state and univeristy will follow the same rule for counselling, including eligibility, mop-up rounds, seat withdrawals, and time limits for grievances.
