High Court Clears Path for In-Service Doctors in NEET PG Mop-Up Rounds

In a significant relief for medical professionals, the High Court for the State of Telangana has paved the way for eighteen in-service doctors to participate in the mop-up counselling for Post Graduate Medical Degree courses. The division bench, led by Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice G.M. Mohiuddin, delivered the order on February 3, 2026, ensuring that academic aspirations were not thwarted by administrative procedural hurdles.

A Quest for Specialized Medical Education

The petitioners, Dr. Karam Nikhil Kumar and seventeen others, found themselves at a crossroads following a notification issued by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences on January 13, 2026, which reduced the percentile cut-off for NEET PG scores. This reduction rendered the petitioners newly eligible for admission under the in-service quota.

However, as the Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences had already initiated its mop-up counselling for stray vacancies, the petitioners initially approached the Supreme Court. Following the withdrawal of their plea with the liberty to move the High Court, the doctors sought judicial intervention to ensure their right to participate in the remainder of the admission process.

The Legal Tug-of-War

During the proceedings, the petitioners argued that their delayed approach to the court was necessitated by their pursuit of relief at the national level. They emphasized that they were denied a fair opportunity to compete for the 311 seats that had become available for the mop-up round.

The University, appearing via its standing counsel, adopted a pragmatic stance. It was noted that while web options for the mop-up round had concluded, the final seat allotments had been kept on hold. The University confirmed that should the web options be reopened, the petitioners would be permitted to exercise their choices alongside other eligible candidates.

Key Observations from the Bench

The High Court’s intervention underscored the importance of providing equal opportunity in academic admissions. The court’s reasoning focused on the ground reality of the transition in eligibility:

• "The petitioners became eligible for admission to the Post Graduate Medical Degree Courses under the in-service quota on reduction of the percentile of NEET scores."
• "In the event the web options are opened for mop-up counselling for the remaining vacancies, the petitioners may exercise their web options."
• "In view of the stand of the respondent University, in the event, the University issues notification for exercise of web options for the mop-up counselling for stray vacancies, the petitioners be allowed to exercise their web options."

A Decisive Conclusion

The High Court ultimately disposed of the Writ Petition with a clear directive: if the University opens its notification for further web options, the petitioners—who have now established their eligibility through the percentile reduction—must be granted access to the process.

By keeping the question of law open for future proceedings, the Court has effectively balanced the administrative timeline of the University with the fundamental right of the doctors to pursue specialized medical training. This decision brings a much-needed closure to the aspiring specialists, potentially setting a precedent for how medical universities handle last-minute shifts in eligibility criteria during intense admission cycles.