SC: Complete AIIMS PG admissions by June 10

A Bench comprising Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan and Justices RV Raveednran and MK Sharma asked six states to submit to the Centre the data on the number of students who had opted for the All India quota in postgraduate courses. These states are Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand. This order was passed during the hearing of an application by a batch of doctors and medical students, complaining that these states had failed to maintain the admission schedule and jeopardised the careers of students.

The petitioners said the states had failed to adhere to the time schedule fixed earlier by the apex court wherein it had directed that the first round of counselling for the seats should be completed every year by April 15, and the admission process by April 20. It was also directed that after the first round of counselling and admission, the next round of counselling should be completed by May 9.

Submitting that the six states had not completed the first round of counselling by the scheduled dates, the petitioners apprehended that if the schedule was not completed, it would not be possible to go through the second round of counselling. As a result, many All India quota seats would go to the states.