Karnataka High Court full bench quashes provisional allotment in MBBS, BDS third-round counselling

Bengaluru: A full bench of the Karnataka High Court on Friday set aside the October 24 provisional allotment list pertaining to the third round of counselling for MBBS and BDS seats.

The three-judge bench comprising Justices B M Shyam Prasad, M I Arun and T M Nadaf passed this order while partly allowing the petitions filed by a batch of students. It also issued a series of directions to the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA).

These petitions were referred to the three-judge bench after a division bench delivered a split verdict. 

The full bench has directed the KEA to allot the an additional 443 seats to eligible candidates based on options already entered. It must also allot any remaining seats not filled in the first stage. In the next stage, the KEA has to allot the consequential 377 seats and any seats still unfilled after the first two processes. 

The entire process shall be completed by December 17, 2025, the bench said. 

Directions to NMC

The full bench directed the National Medical Commission (NMC) to consider granting approval for the list submitted by the KEA in terms of directions issued by the high court, notwithstanding any delay. 

It further said that when the NMC proposes an additional intake for the next academic year and the state publishes a seat matrix for such additional seats, it must consider the expectations of increased seat allotment in the current academic year. 

“This bench cannot but observe that the NMC, while granting approvals for additional seats, must find out whether the counselling has begun, and if the counselling has begun, must stipulate that these additional seats cannot be offered for the current academic year in view of Regulation 17 of GMER-23. Further, this bench must observe that the state government in issuing/publishing seat matrix, must know the exacerbation that is bound to be if all aspects are not considered, and they must take decisions within time as required in law lest the exacerbation is continued to be created in the coming years,” the bench said. 

Background

On November 19, a division judge comprising Justices Jayant Banerji and K V Aravind had delivered divergent verdicts. 

The petitioners had contended that after the second round, through different notifications, the KEA had added 443 seats for the third round of counselling. However, the notifications restricted the participation of the petitioners, who were allotted in the first two rounds, to only the added seats. 

Justice Banerji set aside the third-round provisional seat allotment list of candidates and directed the KEA to conduct the third round of counselling afresh, strictly as per Supreme Court directions in the case of Bhavna Tiwari. 

However, Justice Aravind noted that the petitioners, who were selected in the first two rounds and were presently pursuing their undergraduate MBBS course, seeking reallotment without challenging the governing conditions would deprive candidates, who are otherwise eligible for admission against the available vacancies in third round and the stray vacancy round. 

Justice Aravind further said that the admitted candidates were permitted to make option entries in round 3/mop-up only against the newly added seats in the nine colleges and that the candidates accepted these conditions and made their option entries accordingly.