New Delhi/Bhubaneswar: The Supreme Court has extended the deadline for the final round of counselling for admissions to MBBS and BDS courses 2017-18 till September 7 to fill the 5,500 vacant seats in deemed universities.
Students who have qualified the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) can avail this final opportunity as no further extension will be granted, the apex court said.
A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Mishra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud said, “Time for mop up round counselling is extended till September 7, 2017. This extension shall only be applicable to the deemed universities and none else. Any application by any other college or institution seeking extension shall not be entertained.”
Earlier, the last date for mop-up round, the last step of counselling for NEET seats in various states, was August 31. The Director General of Health Services (DGHS) which is responsible for conducting the counselling had informed the court that over 5,500 seats are still vacant in deemed universities.
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The attorney of the deemed universities urged the court to consider the names of NEET qualified candidates in order to maintain the ratio of 1:10. The court directed that the seats should be filled up from among the 55,000 qualified students to maintain the ratio of 1:10.
The judgement by the bench read, “As long as, for the seats which have fallen vacant, the ratio is maintained at 1:10, we do not perceive any difficulty. If 1:10 ratio is not sufficient, the Director General of Health Services is granted liberty to get into the larger NEET list. We order accordingly.”