Jaipur: Rajasthan’s NEET UG counselling has left 1,039 MBBS seats vacant in private medical colleges after Round 3, even though every MBBS seat in govt medical colleges has been filled.Vacant seats will not, however, automatically mean easier entry for students. The admission board said seats remained unfilled because reservation rules, merit norms and court directions were strictly applied.Only three of Rajasthan’s 18 private medical colleges filled all MBBS seats after three rounds. The remaining colleges still have vacancies. All BDS seats have been allotted.The board said many out-of-state reserved-category applicants could not be allotted seats because they did not meet Rajasthan’s mandatory unreserved qualifying score. For Round 3, the unreserved cut-off was 213 marks.Out-of-state candidates claiming reservation in their home states were treated as unreserved candidates for Rajasthan admissions. Those scoring below 213 were excluded from Round 3 allotment.The board also said it would not dilute merit, reservation limits or state policy simply to fill vacant seats. It said the allotment followed directions of Supreme Court, Medical Counselling Committee, National Medical Commission, National Dental Commission, Rajasthan High Court, state govt and medical education department.Officials said Supreme Court rulings make it clear that reserved-category candidates from one state cannot automatically claim reservation benefits in another state unless allowed by that state’s policy or domicile rules.Rajasthan High Court had also upheld the state’s counselling rules, affirming that reservation benefits in Rajasthan are primarily for domicile candidates.Officials said the vacancies were also linked to the addition of 1,100 new MBBS seats in private colleges in 2026, besides the reputation and location of institutions.
