The Delhi High Court has sought responses from the Centre and AIIMS on a plea alleging that the premier institute failed to conduct the spot admission round for the Institutes of National Importance Combined Entrance Test (INI-CET) 2025 for PG medical courses, despite certain vacant seats.

Justice Vikas Mahajan issued notices to the central government and AIIMS Delhi on a petition filed by several doctors who appeared for the INI-CET January 2025 session. The court heard the plea on March 28 and scheduled the next hearing for April 4.

The petition challenges AIIMS' decision not to conduct the spot admission round, which was expected to follow the open admission round for INI-CET January 2025. Advocate Tanvi Dubey, representing the petitioners, presented the exam prospectus in court, arguing that the seat allocation process explicitly included a spot round if required. She urged the court to direct AIIMS to conduct the spot round without delay.

AIIMS' counsel countered that the petition was "misconceived," stating that vacant postgraduate seats after the open round could only be filled by individual Institutes of National Importance (INIs) after obtaining approval from their competent authorities. The counsel further argued that the INIs with vacant seats are necessary parties to the case.

In response, the petitioners’ lawyer assured the court that an application to implead the concerned INIs would be filed.

According to the plea, AIIMS had issued a prospectus for the INI-CET PG courses (MD/MS/M.Ch. (6 years)/DM (6 years)/MDS), conducted the exam on November 10, 2024, and declared the results on November 16, 2024. The petitioners argued that AIIMS' prospectus explicitly stated that "a spot round (if needed) will be conducted by AIIMS, New Delhi for all the INIs."

The petitioners contended that they were under the impression that the spot round would take place as per the prospectus. However, AIIMS' decision not to conduct the round deprived them of the opportunity to participate in the counselling process and secure a seat.

“The candidates are victims of circumstance, suffering without any fault on their part. Despite rigorous preparation and securing good ranks, they were never informed that the open and spot rounds could be canceled,” the plea stated.