MP High Court Directs DME To Cap In-Service NEET PG Seats At 30%, Bars Mixing Open Category And In-Service Merit Lists

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): In the backdrop of ongoing NEET PG counselling, the principal bench of Madhya Pradesh in Jabalpur on Monday directed that in-service category students be allotted only 30% of PG seats, not exceeding 30%, and that the merit list of open category cannot be intermingled with in-service category candidates.

Notices were also issued to the state of MP and the Director of Medical Education (DME) to file replies by November 5 and to hear the matter finally. Pre-PG counselling first round is underway in MP. Allotments and admission will end on November 10, 2026.

Chief Justice Alpesh Yeshvant Kogje and Justice Vivek Jain issued notice to DME after hearing the arguments of senior advocate Aditya Sanghi who appeared for open category students challenging the merit list prepared by DME.

Senior advocate Aditya Sanghi said told court that merit was paramount in PG courses but merit suffered because the two lists of open and in-service categories overlapped. Therefore, open-category students suffered by not getting seats as per merit.

After hearing the arguments, the division bench passed the interim orders stating that the allotment of seats to in-service candidates should be strictly limited to 30% of seats and not more than 30% in each discipline of specialisation.