Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear a plea seeking to stop the transfer of 152 vacant in-service super-speciality medical seats in Tamil Nadu to the All India Quota (AIQ) for the 2025-26 academic year.A bench of justices B V Nagarathna and Joymalya Bagchi issued notices to the Centre, the Tamil Nadu government and other respondents on a petition filed by the Tamil Nadu Medical Officers Association. The court sought their responses and scheduled the matter for hearing in July.While hearing the case, the bench observed, “A government doctor, if (he or she) acquires skills, will serve public health better than a private doctor.” The court also noted that in-service candidates form a separate category because they are both working and studying at the same time.The petition relates to 152 vacant in-service super-speciality seats in Tamil Nadu medical colleges that were earmarked for the state for the 2025-26 academic year. The association has asked the court to restrain authorities from surrendering these seats to the All India Quota until the counselling process reaches a later stage.It has also sought permission for in-service candidates in Tamil Nadu to compete for these seats during the third round of counselling or the mop-up round if the qualifying percentile is reduced below 50 per cent after the second round of AIQ counselling.The issue had also been raised earlier this month by leader of opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin. In a June 4 letter to chief minister C Joseph Vijay, he urged the state government to take steps to prevent the 152 seats from being surrendered to the All India Quota.Referring to the 2025 NEET super-speciality counselling process, Stalin said that 215 of the 430 available seats in Tamil Nadu had been reserved for in-service government doctors. “Of these reserved seats, only 63 were filled during the counselling process and consequently, 152 seats remained vacant following the conclusion of the second round of counselling,” he said.
