Kochi: The Kerala High Court has rejected a plea seeking a third round of allotment for medical admission against the all-India quota as per the rank list of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).

Justice P V Asha rejected the petition after the Medical Counselling Committee and the central government informed the court that there was no scope for a third allotment, counselling or mop-up allotment. 

In the mop-up round, any vacant seats found after previous rounds of allotment are taken up. 

The central government further said that a decision can be taken only as per the instructions of the Supreme Court and that the SC had not permitted this matter.

Medical aspirants P Shamshad, K Shabeer Ali, and P P Nihla had approached the High Court. Their respective NEET scores are 610, 608 and 606. In their petition, they pointed out that some candidates returned to their home states after giving up on their admission in the all-India quota. And that at least 3,000 seats would fall vacant because of this.

Instead of limiting the mop-up round to the AIIMS, JIPMER and deemed universities, the petitioners had also sought that the allotment be held to all seats to ensure that maximum students get admission.

Originally scheduled for April and May this year, the NEET exam was finally conducted on September 13 after been postponed on several occasions on account of the coronavirus outbreak. But after it came to light that many had missed the September 13's exam (it is estimated that about 1.5 lakh students may have missed it on account of COVID restrictions), the Supreme Court had intervened to facilitate another attempt on October 14. 

NEET results dictate the admission to undergraduate medical courses in medical institutions across the country governed under the National Medical Commission Act, 2019.