NEW DELHI: A Supreme Court-appointed amicus curiae has blamed persistent vacancies at National Medical Commission (NMC) and the government’s failure to fill key statutory posts for recurring delays in medical admissions, approvals, inspections and appeals, saying lapses have disrupted academic calendars and left students bearing the brunt of the system’s shortcomings.In his report to SC, the amicus, senior advocate Maninder Singh, said delays in approvals, inspections, appeals and counselling have become a recurring feature despite years of reform efforts.Admission schedules are routinely stretching far beyond prescribed timelines, it said, pointing out that for the 2025-26 academic session, PG admissions reportedly continued till Feb 2026, and UG admissions till Dec 2025.

Amicus report on NMC also flags lack of transparency

The report said, “Most of the sufferers in these delays are the students.” Medical seats remain unfilled because approvals, renewals and counselling are not completed within stipulated timelines, it said. It noted that permissions and renewals for MBBS courses continued till Nov 2025, despite the academic session having commenced on Sept 1, 2025. It also cited instances where appeals relating to PG courses and seat increases became infructuous as counselling processes moved ahead before decisions could be taken.The amicus linked many of these delays to persistent vacancies within the regulator and its autonomous boards. The report stated that the absence of regular office-bearers has contributed to delays in framing regulations, processing applications, granting permissions and deciding appeals.The report also raised concerns over transparency, saying inspection reports and regulatory decisions are no longer being routinely disclosed in the public domain despite statutory provisions requiring such publication.“It is very unfortunate that an authority responsible for regulating standards of medical education in the country and performing various functions under the National Medical Commission (NMC) Act, 2019 is functioning without office-bearers,”the submission stated.Six years after the NMC Act came into force, several statutory positions across the commission and its autonomous boards remain vacant, the amicus pointed out. While the Act envisages multiple presidents and members across the boards, several positions remain unfilled. The report also noted that the Centre has failed to fill several key positions envisaged under the law, including the post of secretary for the prescribed tenure.