Orders seat for petitioner who challenged criteria
Morung Express News
Kohima | August 15
The Gauhati High Court Kohima Bench (GHCKB) has struck down portions of a 2021 Nagaland Government notification with regard to its application for selection and nomination of candidates against Central pool MBBS/BDS seats for the academic year 2025-26 terming it arbitrary and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution.
Justice Mridul Kumar Kalita, delivering a common judgment on two writ petitions on August 14, also directed the State authorities to place the petitioner’s name in the revised merit list and allot her the vacant Central pool MBBS seat for 2025–26 within two days to meet the August 18 admission deadline.
Case background
As per the court’s records, for 2025–26 Nagaland had 152 MBBS seats, including 42 seats allocated by the Centre from the Central pool for states without adequate medical facilities.
The petitioner, daughter of the Commanding Officer of 1 Nagaland Battalion NCC, scored 455 in NEET, higher than the second-ranked candidate in the State merit list. However, her name was omitted from the list of provisionally selected candidates.
She challenged the omission in one writ petition and, in another, questioned the validity of the Higher and Technical Education (HTE) Department’s notification dated September 9, 2021, which required Category-III(b) candidates to have studied Class X/XII in Nagaland and for their parents to have been posted in the State for at least three years.
Parties’ arguments
During the hearings, Senior Advocate for the petitioner argued that the 2021 HTE notification contradicted the Union Health Ministry’s guidelines of 1986 and 2025, which mandate equal treatment of eligible wards of Central/State/UT Government employees and local residents, with selection based solely on merit.
He contended that the State imposed additional criteria without Central concurrence, discriminating among eligible categories and effectively excluding wards of Central Government employees posted in Nagaland.
In response, the Nagaland Advocate General maintained that the State could frame criteria to protect the interests of its inhabitants, especially as a tribal-majority state deficient in medical education.
He argued that the petitioner failed both the schooling and three-year residency requirements, and that the petitioner’s father was neither an All India Service officer nor without access to other quotas, as the Defence Ministry also has Central pool seats.
Meanwhile, the Union Government’s counsel supported the petitioner’s eligibility under Clause 1.2 of the July 28, 2025 Office Memorandum, noting that she was the ward of a Central Government employee posted in Nagaland. The Centre also pointed out that the State had not obtained prior concurrence before adding restrictive conditions.
Court’s observations & directions
After hearing the submissions from all sides, Justice Kalita held that Central pool MBBS seats must be filled strictly as per Central Government guidelines, which list four eligible categories and require equal treatment without preference.
The court found that the 2021 notification “totally excludes” wards of Central Government employees posted in Nagaland, except All India Service officers, and was therefore contrary to the July 2025 guidelines and Article 14.
The judge rejected the State’s “bird of passage” argument, noting that the petitioner’s father was posted for two years to serve in Nagaland, making his ward eligible.
During the hearing, the Additional Advocate General, Nagaland, informed the court that only one Central pool MBBS seat had been kept vacant in compliance with the court’s earlier order of July 28, while the remaining 41 seats had already been allotted to eligible candidates based on merit.
Quashing the notification’s application to Central pool seats for 2025–26, the court directed the Directorate of Technical Education to allot the vacant seat to the petitioner and complete the process within two days, noting that the admission deadline is August 18.
NSF objects to candidature
The Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) has meanwhile raised objections to the candidature of the individual under the Nagaland State Quota for NEET 2025 admissions.
In a representation to the State Chief Secretary, the NSF said it was duty-bound to safeguard the rights, privileges, and opportunities meant for the indigenous people of Nagaland. It stated that the candidate in question was not indigenous to the State and did not belong to any recognised Scheduled Tribe of Nagaland, despite listing a Kohima address owing to a parent’s current posting.
The Federation maintained that the State Quota for professional courses is “exclusively reserved for candidates who are Nagas by blood and indigenous inhabitants of Nagaland,” as mandated under existing policies and constitutional safeguards for Scheduled Tribes in the State.
It further cautioned that allowing such candidature “would set a dangerous precedent, depriving deserving indigenous Naga students of their rightful opportunities and eroding the very essence of the State Quota policy.”
The NSF informed that it has initiated a physical verification of documents for all State Quota candidates at its Kohima office this month under the supervision of its Education Committee. The process includes mandatory scrutiny of Scheduled Tribe and Indigenous Inhabitant Certificates to ensure compliance, it said, adding that any candidate failing to prove eligibility beyond doubt must be declared ineligible immediately.
The Federation urged the State Government to disqualify the candidate in question from the State Quota for NEET 2025 and to direct the concerned authorities to tighten verification processes to prevent future attempts by non-indigenous applicants.
