Supreme Court It on Wednesday agreed to hear an appeal seeking to stop the transfer of 152 vacancies in the super-specialty medical service in Tamil Nadu to the All India Quota (AIQ) for the academic year 2025-26.A bench of justices BV 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 Association. The court sought their answers 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 candidates in service form a separate category because they are both working and studying at the same time.The petition relates to 152 in-service super-specialty vacancies in Tamil Nadu medical colleges that have been earmarked for the state for the academic year 2025-26. The association requested the court to stay the authority to give up these seats to the All India Quota until the counseling process reaches a later stage.He also sought permission for the candidates in service in Tamil Nadu to compete for these posts during the third round of counseling or mop-up round if the qualification percentile is reduced below 50 percent after the second round of AIQ counseling.The issue was also raised earlier this month by the leader of the 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 given up to the All India Quota.Referring to the NEET 2025 super-specialty counseling process, Stalin said that 215 of the 430 seats available in Tamil Nadu have been reserved for serving government doctors. “Of these reserved seats, only 63 were filled during the counseling process and consequently, 152 seats remained vacant after the conclusion of the second round of counseling,” he said.
