Now Reading: AP High Court allows MBBS candidates to retain seats in Phase-III
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AP High Court allows MBBS candidates to retain seats in Phase-III
The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Tuesday (6 October 2026) allowed MBBS candidates allotted seats in the first and second phases of counselling to retain their present colleges as options while also exercising choices for other colleges in the third phase. The relief followed a clarification by Dr NTR University of Health Sciences before a division bench comprising Chief Justice Lisa Gill and Justice Challa Gunaranjan.
The petition was filed by a BC-B category candidate who had joined Guntur Medical College in the first phase. He alleged that in the second phase, the web portal deactivated other college options after he selected the college where he was already enrolled, preventing him from being considered for a seat under the meritorious reserved candidate category despite a NEET rank of 31,325.
The university's counsel clarified that candidates allotted a seat in an earlier phase could exercise options for every other college in the third phase. Based on this, the court disposed of the petition, leaving the petitioner free to exercise his options in the forthcoming third phase of counselling.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The order affects thousands of MBBS candidates in Andhra Pradesh who were worried about losing their existing seats while trying for a better option in the final counselling round. The case turned on a software restriction that the court and university agreed had no basis in the Admission Rules. Candidates in the first two phases can now list their current college as an option and still try for other colleges. The key test will be whether the web portal is updated in time for the third phase, as directed by the court.
Source: deccanchronicle.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Methodology and corrections.
