NEW DELHI:  The Supreme Court on has sent contempt notices to the medical education directors of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh on finding that they have not only failed to report vacant all-India quota medical seats, but also filled them by state candidates.

This violation of the apex court’s August 28 order, which directed assimilation of vacant seats and extended counselling, made a bench comprising Justices B N Agrawal, H S Bedi and G S Singhvi to issue notices to the state education directors asking them to show cause why contempt proceedings be not initiated against them. It also stayed the concerned admissions made by these two states.

Additional Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam had reported to the court that 70 out of 117 medical colleges and 22 out of 27 dental colleges have not furnished information about the vacant seats.

The bench had on August 28 ordered an extended second counselling on September 13 and 14 for the all-India quota seats and said: “We do not find any justification as to why other medical and dental colleges have not furnished the required information which they were obliged to furnish.”

It directed the Director-General of Health Services (DGHS) on Thursday, which conducts the counselling, to seek out the vacant seats from each college latest by September 5 for this academic year.

“By 12th September 2008, the DGHS will see that the entire information received is compiled and thereafter, extended second counselling is done on 13th and 14th September, 2008, at Delhi,” the bench ordered.

This is the first time that the malpractice of hiding the vacancy position was brought up before the apex court by a group of students who moved a petition through counsel A D N Rao.