• State Govt challenges August 14 verdict
• One MBBS seat kept vacant until final judgment
• Next hearing scheduled for September 8
Moa Jamir
Dimapur | August 19
The Gauhati High Court, Principal Bench, on Tuesday ‘kept in abeyance’ the operation of a judgment and order passed by the Kohima Bench directing the State of Nagaland to allot a central pool MBBS seat to the daughter of an Army officer.
The Division Bench headed by Chief Justice Arun Dev Choudhury, however, directed that one seat be kept vacant until the appeal filed by the Nagaland Government is finally decided.
The Bench issued the interim order while hearing the State’s appeal against the August 14 common ruling on two writ petitions by the Kohima Bench quashing a 2021 Nagaland Government notification prescribing certain eligibility criteria for wards of Central Government employees, including defence personnel, to access the State’s share of central pool MBBS seats.
It had also directed allocation of a seat to the petitioner (medical aspirant, hereafter) under the central pool MBBS quota meant for Nagaland.
Nagaland Govt’s contentions
During the hearing on August 19, the State of Nagaland argued that the medical aspirant’s father, an Army Colonel serving as Commanding Officer (NCC) in Nagaland, could not be deemed to hold a “civil post” under the Central Government.
The State also questioned whether aspirant had ‘moved to the State of Nagaland to take advantage of the MBBS central pool.’
It further pointed out that wards of defence personnel already have a separate quota of approximately equal number of seats in the central pool which could accommodate the aspirant, and raised a preliminary objection to the judgment of the single judge.
The writ appeal further asserted that a State has the power to prescribe eligibility criteria for selection and nomination to MBBS seats meant for the concerned State, which in this case was Nagaland.
The State Government also argued that the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) guidelines for seat allocation issued in August 2024 as well as July 2025 were ‘directory in nature’ and did not override State rules.
In the earlier writ petitions, the medical aspirant had relied on the MoHFW’s guidelines to challenge the State Government’s 2021 notification.
The State Government also contended that the aspirant did not meet Nagaland’s specific requirements, including passing Classes 11 and 12 in the State and a minimum three years’ stay of the parent in Nagaland.
It pointed out that with only one medical college, Nagaland is severely deficient in medical education, making the 42 central pool seats allocated to the State critical.
Meanwhile, the medical aspirant appeared virtually and sought some time to contest the appeal.
Accordingly, the Division Bench listed the matter for further hearing on September 8.
‘Till such time, the operation of the August 14 judgment shall remain in abeyance with the rider that one seat shall be kept vacant and shall be filled up subject to the decision in this appeal,’ stated the oral order dictated by Chief Justice Choudhury.
During the August 19 hearing, while the Bench made certain observations on the eligibility of the aspirant, it clarified that its observations were only tentative and the respondent could contest the appeal fully at the next hearing.
Background
On August 14, a Single Judge of the Kohima Bench had quashed the 2021 notification of the Nagaland Government and directed that the petitioner, who scored 455 marks in NEET, be included in the merit list for the State’s central pool quota.
The Court further directed that the available vacant MBBS seat be allotted to her, observing that her marks were higher than those of other selected candidates.
The State Government subsequently appealed the decision, leading to the interim stay order issued on August 19.
Meanwhile, the August 14 verdict has drawn responses from several quarters, including the Naga Students’ Federation (NSF), which staged an ‘emergency sit-in protest’ at NSF Solidarity Park, Kohima, on Tuesday.
