Bengaluru: The High Court of Karnataka has stayed the second round of counseling for selection of candidates to post-graduate medical and dental courses for the academic year 2018-19 till May 2.
The court directed both the Department of Medical Education (DME) and the Karnataka Examinations Authority, which is conducting the counseling, not to proceed with the second round till May 2.
A Division Bench comprising justices B.S. Patil and Sunil Dutt Yadav passed the interim order on April 27 on a petition filed by 35 medical graduates, Rahul Gawalkar and others.
The petitioners have questioned the seat matrix announced by the DME that leaves about 25% of the total seats in various post-graduate courses for the NRI/management quota, allegedly contrary to the verdict of the court, which had last year has said that only 15% of seats can be earmarked for the NRI/management quota as per the Medical Council of India regulations.
Dore Raj, petitioner’s counsel, also contended that the seat matrix has been fixed without waiting for the release of unclaimed seats from the All India quota, and the options to the petitioner candidates to choose the specialty course of their choice gets severely affected if the second round counselling is proceeded with in the absence of reversion of seats from the All India quota seats by the Central government.
The Bench adjourned further hearing as the government counsel stated that the reversion of All India quota seats to the States is coming up before the Supreme Court next week.
