New Delhi, March 21 -- The Delhi High Court has directed that candidates who were allotted seats in the Stray Vacancy Round (SVR) of NEET-PG 2025 but did not join cannot be treated as "ineligible" for Sponsored Post MBBS DNB (SPMD) counselling, holding that mere allotment does not amount to "pursuing" a postgraduate course.

Allowing the writ petitions, the Court set aside communications dated March 5 and 6, 2026, issued by the National Board of Examination in Medical Sciences (NBEMS), and permitted the petitioners to participate in the SPMD counselling process, subject to forfeiture of their security deposit.

The bench of Justice Jasmeet Singh ruled that the eligibility condition barring candidates "already pursuing" a postgraduate cour...