Supreme Court to Tackle Vacant Medical Seats Dilemma

The Supreme Court will review a plea for the National Medical Commission to ensure no postgraduate seats in pre-clinical and para-clinical branches remain vacant. The court is seeking data on the past five years and is urging the government to engage stakeholders to address this recurring issue.

The Supreme Court is set to deliberate a plea demanding that the National Medical Commission establish a system ensuring that postgraduate seats in pre-clinical and para-clinical branches of medical colleges in India do not go unfilled.

The petition further requests the commission to present data on vacancy figures from the past five years. A judicial bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai, along with Justices K Vinod Chandran and N V Anjaria, will hear the plea.

Previously, the Supreme Court emphasized the necessity of preventing vacant seats in medical courses and urged the Centre to convene with relevant stakeholders. In response to the unfilled super-speciality seats flagged in April 2023, the Centre suggested forming a committee to tackle the issue effectively.

(With inputs from agencies.)