2 state medical colleges move HC against ban on institute-level admissions

Two Maharashtra medical colleges will challenge the state’s ban on institute-level counselling to fill vacant NEET seats.

Mumbai: Two private medical colleges in the state will challenge the state government’s decision to stop institute-level counselling for medical admissions in the Bombay High Court. Parbhani Medical College (PMC) approached the Aurangabad bench on Wednesday, while Vedantaa Institute of Medical Sciences (VIMS), Palghar, is readying to file a petition before the principal bench of the high court.

(Shutterstock)

Both colleges seek permission to fill seats left vacant after the centralised admission process. The outcome of the petitions is likely to affect the ongoing National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) admission process in the state.

Confirming the development, MV Thorat, counsel for both colleges, said, “Unaided colleges have the right to admit their own students and fill all their vacancies. We are appealing to the high court to give us back our rights.”

The petitioning colleges argue that the Maharashtra Unaided Private Professional Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admissions and Fees) Act, 2015, does not prohibit institute-level counselling. They are also relying on Supreme Court judgments in a similar case.

Institute-level counselling allows colleges to fill vacant MBBS and MD/MS seats on their own after the regular rounds of NEET counselling. The state government, however, made it mandatory for all admissions, including the final stray vacancy round, to be conducted online through the centralised admission process (CAP) by the state Common Entrance Test (CET) cell.

The dispute over institute-level admissions first came into focus in 2023, when the state allowed private colleges to fill vacant MBBS seats towards the end of the admission process. The NMC later directed colleges to cancel the admissions of 141 students, citing Supreme Court judgments and its directions against institute-level admissions.

The government introduced fresh rules for undergraduate medical and dental admissions in July and postgraduate admissions earlier this month, following directions from the National Medical Commission (NMC).

The move came amid a long-running dispute over institute-level admissions. Medical aspirants and activists have alleged that such rounds lack transparency and allow colleges to bypass merit lists, with seats allegedly being offered to preferred candidates in exchange for large sums of money. Private colleges, however, argue that institute-level counselling is necessary to ensure that seats do not remain vacant.