Provisional admissions in medical colleges must adhere strictly to established counseling protocols to safeguard merit in the admission process.

JUDGMENT :

Muralee Krishna, J.

1. The appellant in W.A.No.1630 of 2025 is the 4th respondent, and the appellant in W.A.No.2745 of 2025 is a third party to W.P.(C)No.43449 of 2024. Both the writ appeals are filed challenging the judgment dated 19.05.2025, passed by the learned Single Judge in that writ petition. The parties to these writ appeals are referred in their status as they are in W.A.No.2745 of 2025, unless otherwise stated.

2. The facts which led to the filing of the present writ appeals are as follows:

2.1. The 1^st respondent herein-petitioner in W.P.(C)No.43449 of 2024 is an aspirant of a medical course and appeared for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (‘NEET’ for short) UG-2024. He secured All India Rank of 881671 and category rank of 393675. Evidencing the same, he produced Ext.P1 NEET score card in the writ petition. He had registered for the online medical counselling hosted by the Medical Counselling Committee (‘MCC’, for short) by paying the required fees. Even though the MCC conducted four rounds of seat allocation and a special stray vacancy round open to all pre-registered candidates who have completed registration and payment of fees earlier and are not holding any seat, for filling the MBBS seats in the Country, the 1^st respondent could not secure a seat. Alleging that some of the medical seats were still lying vacant and one such general quota seat is vacant at the 4^th respondent college, which is deemed to be University, the 1^st respondent approached this Court with the writ petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, seeking a writ of mandamus commanding the MCC to take immediate steps to fill the vacant seat in the MBBS course at the 4^th respondent college/deemed to be University and allot the same to the 1^st respondent.

2.2. On 09.12.2024, when the writ petition came up for consideration, the learned Single Judge passed Annexure A/Annexure R4(f) interim order as under:

“It is submitted that in the special stray round for filling up last of the vacancy, a student was allotted seat, but he has not turned up and has later informed that he is not interested to join.

2. In view of the fact that a seat of MBBS is still vacant, there will be an interim order directing the respondents to admit the petitioner to the course forthwith, if the petitioner satisfies all other parameters.

Post on 15.01.2025.”

2.3. Subsequently, the appellant in W.A.No.1630 of 2025 - 5^th respondent herein, who secured All India Rank of 334961 and 101254^th rank in the category section, filed W.P.(C) No.44690 of 2024 seeking a direction to allot the available seat in the 4^th respondent college to her.

2.4. On the basis of Annexure R4 (f)/Annexure A interim order dated 09.12.2024, passed by the learned Single Judge, the 4^th respondent college admitted the 1^st respondent in the one and only stray vacancy available in the College. Meanwhile, some of the medical colleges approached the Apex Court with miscellaneous applications in W.P.(C) No. 833 of 2024 with a prayer for direction to the admission authorities to conduct a stray /special counselling round for the seats remaining vacant in several colleges, even after the five rounds of counselling. Taking into consideration the peculiar facts and circumstances, and further that the precious medical seats should not go in waste, when the Country is facing acute shortage of doctors, the Apex Court inclined to extend the period of counselling by way of a last chance. Paragraphs 6 to 9 of the order of the Apex Court dated 20.12.2024 in W.P.(C)No.833 of 2024 in the matter of Era Lucknow Medical College and Hospital v. State of Uttar Pradesh rea