The Delhi High Court (HC) refused to grant relief to a National Eligibility cum Entrance Test - Undergraduate (NEET-UG) applicant, affirming the Medical Counselling Committee's (MCC) decision to withdraw the conversion of Scheduled Caste (SC)/Women seats to general category seats before the commencement of the counselling process.
The Delhi High Court bench, while refusing to grant relaxation to the NEET-UG candidate who was denied MBBS admission to Delhi University following the Medical Counselling Committee’s (MCC) decision, stated that rectifying a legal error related to reservation to align with constitutional principles before the third round of NEET counselling cannot be treated a procedural violation or administrative mistake by the authorities.
The court ruled that there was no error in the MCC and Delhi University's decision to modify the conversion process, which initially recommended converting SC (SC-CW) seats into Unreserved (UR-CW) seats.
In its judgment, the Delhi High Court emphasised the importance of upholding procedural and constitutional correctness.
According to a report by Shiksha, Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma, who headed the bench, stated, "Correcting an inadvertent legal error before the counselling process cannot be treated as a procedural violation or administrative mistake. The petitioners have failed to demonstrate the exceptional circumstances warranting interference. This case exemplifies the balanced approach of the courts towards disputes relating to reservation, giving primacy to procedural integrity and constitutional principles."
A group of NEET UG 2024 candidates who were eligible for educational concessions under the Armed Forces Quota at Delhi University had approached the Delhi High Court. Their petition challenged a change in the seat conversion policy.
Although the NEET 2024 information bulletin initially indicated that SC(CW) seats would be converted to UR(CW) seats in the third round of counselling, the authorities revised the process beforehand and restored the vacant ST(CW) and SC(CW) seats to their original ST and SC categories.
