Supreme Court Directs Tamil Nadu to Surrender Unfilled Super Speciality Seats, Allows Partial Reversion

The Tamil Nadu government has been directed by the Supreme Court to surrender its unfilled super speciality medical seats to the All India Quota (AIQ) for the second round of counselling. The order, delivered on Tuesday, also includes a provision that if the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) reduces the percentile after counselling, half of the vacant seats must be reverted to the state.

Health Minister K.G. Arunraj described the verdict as significant, attributing it to the state government's timely writ petition and arguments presented before the court. He explained that Tamil Nadu reserves 50% of its DM/MCh super speciality seats for in-service candidates, and this year 151 such seats remained unfilled.

As per the court's order, the state must revert these unfilled seats to the DGHS by July 29. The DGHS is instructed to expedite the second round of counselling, maintaining the same percentile. Should a decision be made to lower the percentile after the second round, 50% of the seats would be returned to Tamil Nadu, while the remaining 50% would be filled through subsequent counselling by the DGHS under the revised percentile.

Minister Arunraj noted that previously, vacant in-service seats were surrendered to AIQ without any legal challenge, leading to Tamil Nadu doctors losing opportunities. He said this verdict ensures that if seats remain vacant after the second round, the DGHS cannot unilaterally reduce the percentile and fill them. Instead, any reduction would trigger a reversion of half the seats to the state.

However, some government doctors expressed scepticism, pointing out that critical specialities like Cardiology, Surgical Gastroenterology, Vascular Surgery, and Nephrology are likely to be filled in the all-India second round. They observed that if seats remain vacant and the percentile is reduced, in-service candidates might benefit only in less popular fields such as Cardiothoracic Surgery and Paediatric Surgery, which have seen vacancies for years.

A senior doctor noted a decline in the number of service doctors appearing for the NEET super speciality examination, as well as reduced interest in difficult branches due to lack of promotional opportunities, fewer super speciality posts, and absence of financial incentives.