Karnataka NEET UG round 2: 11,238 seats allotted, and the cancellation window shuts at 5 pm on 20 September
Karnataka has allotted 8,772 MBBS and 2,466 BDS seats in round 2. Candidates who want out can cancel between 4 pm on 17 September and 5 pm on 20 September — after that the penalty ladder gets very expensive, ending at a year’s fee and a three-year ban.
Karnataka's second round of NEET UG counselling allotted 11,238 seats — 8,772 in MBBS and 2,466 in BDS — with results published on 16 September. The decision that matters this weekend is not whether to take the seat but when to walk away from it, because the cost of walking away rises sharply with the calendar.
The window
The cancellation option is open from 4 pm on 17 September to 5 pm on 20 September. Inside that window, cancelling after a round 2 admission costs two ₹5,000 penalties — the one carried from round 1 plus the round 2 one.
The penalty ladder after it closes
- After round 1 admission: ₹5,000.
- After round 2, before round 3 options close: ₹5,000 + ₹5,000.
- After round 3 options close and before the stray round options close: the two penalties plus ₹10 lakh for a medical seat, ₹50,000 for dental and ₹25,000 for AYUSH — and you are out of the remaining rounds.
- After the stray vacancy round options close: ₹5,000 + ₹5,000 + ₹1 lakh plus one year's course fee, and no counselling for three years.
Why the state is this harsh about it
Because a seat held by someone who never intended to join is a seat no one else can take. Round 1 reporting in Karnataka saw 2,779 MBBS and 223 BDS candidates actually turn up, and every seat left blocked past a round's deadline sits idle while the merit list below it waits. The penalty ladder is the state's way of pricing that idle seat.
What to do this weekend
Decide before 5 pm on Sunday, not after. If an all-India round 3 result could reasonably better your state allotment, work out now which one you would keep — the expensive rungs of that ladder start the moment round 3 choices close, and by then the decision is no longer a ₹5,000 one.
CareerBox News Desk — reporting on the round 2 seat allotment and cancellation notification issued by the Karnataka Examinations Authority. Official portal: cetonline.karnataka.gov.in/kea. Dates and eligibility change; confirm them on the official portal before you act.