GMCH-32 announces schedule for delayed NEET PG counselling after SC order

Chandigarh: After months of delays and legal battles, Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) 32 has announced the schedule for the pending NEET PG counselling for institutional seats. This development follows a Supreme Court order that cancelled the state pool for PG admissions.
GMCH's NEET PG admissions were delayed, causing distress among aspiring medical students. The issue reached the high court after the SC's decision to eliminate the state pool, leaving only the all-India and institutional pools. Parents petitioned the court, advocating for their children to be considered under the all-India quota.
The HC ruled that the counselling process could proceed, but admissions would only commence after May 30, pending the court's final decision. The SC order converted all state pool seats into institutional preference (IP) seats.
The third round of counselling will allow candidates to submit their seat preferences until April 30. The results for the IP and stray counselling seats are scheduled to be released on May 2. "Most of the candidates who were meritorious have joined other institutes, while those who are sticking around in the GMCH with specialisation not of their choice shall surrender their seat and apply again," said an official.
This round marks the third phase of counselling. A subsequent stray vacancy round will be open to all candidates, without any reservations.
The NEET PG admission process was hampered by three separate petitions filed in the HC over the past four months. These petitions challenged the implementation of the counselling process, leading to the extended delay and uncertainty for students. "We wrote to the national medical council about the delay in the admission when the case was in the SC. Now the delay happened due to more court cases as local candidates took to the court," said Prof GS Thami, medical superintendent, GMCH.