Tamil Nadu Health Minister calls Supreme Court verdict on super-speciality seats ‘historic’

Tamil Nadu will surrender the unfilled super-speciality medical seats for the second round of the All India Quota (AIQ) counselling. If the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) decides to reduce the percentile after the counselling, 50% of the vacant seats should be reverted to the State, Health Minister K.G.

Arunraj said, quoting the Supreme Court (SC) verdict.Tamil Nadu reserves 50% of its DM/MCh super-speciality seats for in-service candidates. This year, 151 super-speciality seats remained unfilled in the State.

In its order, the apex court directed the State to revert the unfilled 151 super-speciality seats to the DGHS by tomorrow (July 29). The DGHS should complete the process of the second round of counselling expeditiously. The court also directed that the counselling should be conducted on the same percentile, and if, after the second round of counselling, a decision is to be taken to reduce the percentile, then 50% of such seats should be reverted to T.

N., and the remaining 50% seats should be filled through subsequent counselling by the DGHS as per the renewed percentile, the order said. Surrender of 151 super speciality seats: T.

N. Medical Officers Association faults State government’s handling of Supreme Court caseDr. Arunraj called the Supreme Court verdict “historic”, attributing it to the timely writ petition filed by the State government and appropriate arguments in the Supreme Court.

Seats reserved for in-service candidates that fall vacant had to be surrendered to the AIQ. In the past, no proper measures were taken, and no proper cases were filed in the court, creating a situation in which doctors of Tamil Nadu could not secure the seats, he said.With Tuesday’s verdict, if seats remain vacant after the second round of counselling, DGHS cannot reduce the percentile and fill the vacant seats on its own.

If they decide to reduce the cut-off, 50% of the unfilled seats should be reverted to the State pool, he told reporters during the sidelines of an event organised by the Tamil Nadu Medical Council (TNMC).However, a section of government doctors is sceptical, as all important seats such as Cardiology, Surgical Gastroenterology, Vascular Surgery and Nephrology will be filled in the All India second round counselling. If seats remain vacant and the percentile is reduced, service candidates may get seats such as in Cardiothoracic Surgery and Paediatric Surgery.

In fact, some seats in these specialities have remained vacant for the past few years. Tamil Nadu government should explain surrender of 151 super-speciality medical seats: DMK leader Stalin“The number of service doctors appearing for NEET super-speciality examination has dropped, and those opting for difficult super-speciality branches have also reduced due to lack of promotional opportunities, reduced super-speciality posts and absence of financial increments,” a senior doctor noted.TNMC awardsAt the TNMC awards function, the Minister presented awards to 20 doctors.

Addressing the gathering, he listed the various initiatives taken by the present government. This included reforms at the Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation. Noting that some persons held posts for 10 to 15 years, he said that no extensions were given, and deputations/special postings were withdrawn.

Super-speciality seats row: Tamil Nadu government has corrected past lapses, says Health MinisterNoting that Tamil Nadu aims to grow into a $1.5 trillion economy, Health Secretary Darez Ahamed said that the health sector has to contribute significantly. He requested doctors to create new products, take up more research and create intellectual property in the State.

TNMC’s Ad-hoc committee members A. Muruganathan, convenor, S. Sivaram Kannan, R.

Prabhakaran and G. Srinivas, and registrar A. Senthil Vadivu were present.

Published - July 29, 2026 12:42 am IST Read Comments Copy link Email Facebook Twitter Telegram LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit READ LATER SEE ALL Remove Related Topics Tamil Nadu / medical education