The Supreme Court has asked the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) to submit within two days the details of nearly 250 medical seats lying vacant in various colleges to determine whether students in the waiting list of the all-India quota could be accommodated there.

A bench comprising Justice S Rajendra Babu and Justice G P Mathur has directed the DGHS to submit details of the medical colleges and the seats vacant therein within two days and posted for the January 21 hearing on petitions filed by students on the waiting list.

Appearing for the students, senior advocate Arun Jaitley contended that for the fault of the state governments who did not conduct the tests for the medical seats, the students, who have qualified for the entrance examination, should not be made to suffer.
Stressing that the 15 per cent all-India quota seats in medical colleges is a national resource, the counsel stated that they should not be denied admission on the ground that the academic year had started long ago. The students would make up for the loss of studies by special classes, he added.

When counsel for DGHS informed the court that around 250 seats in various medical colleges were lying vacant, the bench asked for details of the colleges and the seats vacant therein while posting the matter for further hearing.