Odisha student who cracked NEET loses MBBS seat as court says can’t claim ‘two privileges at same time’

“The petitioner’s improvised score in Chemistry from NIOS, even if it is taken into consideration for his minimum eligibility to apply for medical education by giving benefit of the marks criteria from two different Boards, but the reservation cannot be given, because one cannot avail two privileges at the same time,” the May 27 order noted.

A bench of Justice Manash Ranjan Pathak and Justice Sibo Sankar Mishra heard a NEET aspirant’s plea seeking reservation under the SGS quota.

‘Denial of SGS quota’

• The petitioner had passed the high school certificate examination in 2012, conducted by the Board of Secondary Education, Odisha, securing 480 marks out of 600. 
• Thereafter, he appeared in the annual higher secondary examination, 2014, from Christ College, Cuttack and secured 285 marks out of 600, scoring 44 in Physics, 47 in Chemistry, and 58 in Biology.
• Subsequently, to improve his marks in Chemistry, the petitioner appeared for the senior secondary school examination conducted by the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) in October 2022 and secured 64 marks in the subject. 
• Thereafter, he appeared in the NEET-UG 2025 conducted by the National Testing Agency for admission to undergraduate medical and dental courses and secured 264 marks out of 720 with an All-India Rank of 552732. 
• The petitioner registered for OJEE counselling for admission to MBBS/MDS under state quota and was assigned state rank 4880 and SGS rank 425.
• During the NEET-UG counselling process, the student was not allotted any seat for rounds 1, 2 or 3, and was only eligible for the spot/stray round of counselling published on November 12, 2025.
• On November 13, 2025, the petitioner attended the NEET-UG counselling under the UR-SGS category for a state quota seat available.
• The petitioner was not allotted any seat during the spot/stray round of NEET-UG counselling under the SGS quota because he had improved his Chemistry marks through the National Institute of Open Schooling. 
• Despite requesting a written communication, no formal order was passed, and later the Spot/Stray Round list included certain candidates with lower NEET ranks allotted seats under the UR-SGS category.

‘Petitioner claims quota’

Placing reliance on the regulations framed by the National Medical Commission, advocate Ashok Kumar Swain, for the petitioner, submitted that he was eligible for MBBS admission as he belonged to the unreserved category and had scored 50 per cent aggregate in Physics, Chemistry and Biology.

He contended that the improvement of marks through NIOS cannot be a ground to deny consideration, as the National Medical Commission, by Public Notice dated November 22, 2023, recognises NIOS to appear for NEET-UG.

Swain further added that OJEE authorities had approved the improved Chemistry marks obtained from NIOS and declared the petitioner eligible for counselling. 

He argued that in the absence of any misrepresentation, alleged suppression or fraud on the petitioner’s part, the authorities cannot pass a contrary order after accepting his eligibility as per the state government notification and OJEE guidelines governing admission under the State Government School (SGS) quota. 

Calling the action discriminatory and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India, the counsel stated that candidates having lower NEET ranks than the petitioner were allotted seats under the UR–SGS category.

The petitioner’s counsel, referring to the fact that the admission process for the current academic session had concluded, said that his client was entitled to appropriate relief by way of direction for admission in the ensuing academic session.

 ‘State against granting SGS quota’

• Additional Government Advocate J K Bal, appearing for the state, submitted that the petitioner did not complain against the opposite parties for having violated any instruction, order or regulation over candidates having a lower NEET rank than him, having granted reservation.
•  It was noted that he was claiming a reservation under the State Government Schools (SGS) quota, despite not being qualified for the same.
• It was contended that the petitioner did not read the guidelines carefully; he would have known that the reservation under the SGS quota is only available to candidates who have passed out both class 10 and 12 from State Government Schools.
• Opposing the petitioner seeking SGS quota, the counsel argued that he had obtained  49.66 per cent in the CHSE Examination in the year 2014 and improved his Chemistry score in the year 2022 exam conducted by NIOS; therefore, not eligible for NEET-UG.

‘Petitioner improvised marks later’

The significant question before the Orissa High Court was whether the petitioner could be treated as having passed out from the Council of Higher Secondary Education once in one of the subjects in which he had improved his score by appearing in the NIOS examination. 

The Orissa High Court noted that at the time of issuing notice, the petitioner had sought interim relief, which by the court’s order dated December 3, 2025, was denied as the OJEE was concluded on November 11 and 13, 2025, and now he had sought reservation benefits for admission in the upcoming academic session. 

The court also took note of the fact that the petitioner had not scored the required score of 50 per cent in Physics, Chemistry and Biology when he passed in 2014, and later improved his Chemistry marks through NIOS examination in 2022.

The SGS reservation could only be given if the petitioner had produced only one certificate from the state board for the class 12 examination, having minimum qualifying marks; therefore, the petitioner could not be considered for the SGS reservation in accordance with the law.

‘Don’t fight ego battles’: Calcutta High Court rejects IIM student’s plea

Underscoring that parents play a supporting role in students’ lives, which should not escalate to fighting ego battles with institutions, the Calcutta High Court in February rejected the plea of an MBA student from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Calcutta, who sought promotion to the second year of the programme despite failing to meet the requisite grades.

The petitioner, who is suffering from schizophrenia, challenged the institute’s decision to have him repeat the first year, citing his medical condition as the cause for his academic shortfall.

Justice Shampa Dutt (Paul) said, “Parents being emotionally attached should play a supporting role, and it should not turn out to be a case of ego and defiance of an institutional authority, setting a wrong example for the child in the long run.”