The Health Department of West Bengal has indefinitely suspended the admission process for MBBS and BDS courses, as announced in a notice by the West Bengal Medical Counselling Committee (WBMCC).

The suspension, which comes just a day before the scheduled Round 1 seat allotment for NEET UG 2025, has left 11,178 students in a state of uncertainty.

The official notice, dated August 18, states that the “WB NEET UG Medical Dental 2025 Counseling/Admission process has been kept in abeyance till further order(s).” According to sources, the decision is a direct result of ongoing legal challenges related to the reservation list for Other Backward Classes (OBC).

The suspension has drawn sharp criticism from various quarters. Shams Musafir, convener of the state medical unit of a student organization, called the decision “absolutely undesirable”, arguing that the delay will shorten the academic year for students, potentially impacting their studies.

“The reason has not been mentioned. Medical studies follow the same timeline nationally… We demand that the admission process of all students be started immediately after overcoming legal complications. Classes should also be started. Otherwise, there will be a bigger movement across the state in the future. We are already on our way to submit a deputation to the State,” he told The Indian Express.

The development has also triggered a political uproar. Dr Subhas Sarkar, a former Union Minister of State, labeled the move as “very dangerous for the student community” and accused the state government of having a “malintention.”

Union Minister of State for Education, Sukanta Majumdar, also took to X to criticize the suspension, questioning the lack of a proper reason and suggesting it might be an attempt to grant “undue privilege to a particular group under the guise of reservation.” West Bengal Leader of Opposition in the Assembly and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari stated that admissions for the first year haven’t commenced even after three months, affecting a large number of students and their families already. “The Joint Entrance Examination results haven’t been declared either. This is a very serious issue affecting five lakh students and their parents,” he said.