No extension for BSc Nursing admission: Chhattisgarh High Court says deadlines for professional courses to be strictly followed

The order added that the appellants participated in the admission process, fully aware of the stipulated schedule, and therefore cannot seek an extension as a matter of right after the cut-off date expires.

Background

• The plea was filed by 16 nursing aspirants challenging a single judge’s order dated January 13.
• The petitioners sought to extend the December 31, 2025, cut-off date, arguing that the reduction of the qualifying percentile on December 29, 2025, left them with insufficient time to secure admission.
• Appearing for the petitioners, advocate Rajat Agrawal argued that the single judge erred in mechanically applying the percentile-based cut-off and refusing extension of counselling, thereby defeating the very object of the admission process, which is to ensure that available seats, particularly those meant for reserved category candidates, are filled and not left vacant.
• He further argued that the subsequent decision of the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences, reducing the NEET PG–2025 qualifying percentile to 0 per cent for SC/ST/OBC candidates, reflects a clear policy shift toward a substantial relaxation in public interest.
• He submitted that once such relaxation has been considered appropriate at the national level for postgraduate medical courses, denial of similar or lesser relaxation for BSc Nursing admissions, despite vacant seats, is arbitrary and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution.

Government’s stand

• Representing the state, Deputy Advocate General Prasun Bhaduri submitted that the single judge has rightly dismissed the plea as the last date for admission, i.e., on December 31, 2025, was fixed in accordance with the prescribed academic schedule and regulatory framework, and once the cut-off date expired, no direction could have been issued to extend the same.
• He further argued that the law is well settled that admission schedules in professional courses must be strictly adhered to and cannot be altered by judicial orders, except in exceptional circumstances, as such interference would disturb the academic calendar and create uncertainty in the admission process.

‘Cut-off date fixed to maintain discipline’

• The undisputed position is that the last date for admission to the first year of the BSc Nursing course was fixed for December 31, 2025, in terms of the notified academic schedule.
• The appellants approached the single judge seeking an extension of the said cut-off date on the ground that the qualifying percentile was reduced on December 29, 2025, leaving insufficient time to secure admission.
• The cut-off date is fixed to maintain certainty, uniformity, and discipline in the academic calendar.
• Once the prescribed date has expired, issuance of directions to reopen or extend the counselling process would lead to administrative uncertainty and may adversely affect the academic session.
• The power under Article 226, though wide, is to be exercised in accordance with settled principles and not in a manner that disturbs the statutory framework governing admissions.

• The reliance placed by the appellants on the reduction of percentile by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences in relation to NEET PG–2025 does not advance their case, as the said decision pertains to a distinct course governed by a separate regulatory regime.
• No automatic parity can be claimed for BSc Nursing admissions on that basis.
• The extension of timelines by another state government cannot create an enforceable right in favour of the appellants in the absence of a similar policy decision by the competent authority in the present case.
• The regulatory framework governing the nursing course prescribes a structured academic calendar.
• The categorisation into Regular and Irregular Batches cannot be construed as conferring an unrestricted power to grant admissions beyond the notified deadline.