New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to examine a plea seeking a direction to restrain authorities from surrendering 152 vacant in-service super speciality medical seats in Tamil Nadu for the academic year 2025-2026 to the all-India quota. The matter came up for hearing before a bench comprising Justices B V Nagarathna and Joymalya Bagchi.During the hearing, the bench observed, “A government doctor, if (he or she) acquires skills, will serve public health better than a private doctor.” The bench said in-service is a separate category for admission, as such candidates are both working and studying.Petitioner’s counsel referred to the 152 vacant in-service super speciality medical seats in colleges within Tamil Nadu which were earmarked for the state for academic year 2025-2026. The petitioner has sought a direction to restrain the concerned authorities from surrendering the 152 vacant medical seats to the all-India quota until completion of the second round of all-India quota counselling process.The plea also sought a direction to permit the in-service candidates in Tamil Nadu to compete for the 152 surrendered seats during the third round of counselling or mop-up round if the percentile is reduced below 50 per cent after the second round of all-India counselling.The bench issued notice to the Centre and others, including the Tamil Nadu government. The apex court was hearing a petition filed by the Tamil Nadu Medical Officers Association. After hearing submissions, the bench scheduled the matter for further hearing in July.On June 4, Leader of Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Assembly Udhayanidhi Stalin urged Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay to take steps to prevent 152 super speciality medical seats in the state from being surrendered to the all-India quota.
