SWARA KIRAN BHATTversusMEDICAL COUNSELLING COMMITTEE, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF HEALTH SCIENCES

       C/SCA/1242/2026                           ORDER DATED: 02/02/2026




             IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD

               R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 1242 of 2026

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                       SWARA KIRAN BHATT
                             Versus
     MEDICAL COUNSELLING COMMITTEE, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF
                        HEALTH SCIENCES
==========================================================
Appearance:
MR HITESH M SABHNANI(10731) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1
MR PRADIP D BHATE(1523) for the Respondent(s) No. 1
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 CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE NIRZAR S. DESAI

                             Date : 02/02/2026

                              ORAL ORDER


1.      Heard learned Senior Advocate Mr. Mitul Shelat, with
learned Advocate Mr. H. M. Sabhnani, for the petitioner, and
learned Advocate Mr. Ankit Shah for the respondent Medical
Counselling Committee..


2.      By way of the present petition, the petitioner has prayed
for following reliefs;


         (A) The Hon'ble Court be pleased to issue a writ of
         mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or
         direction and be pleased to direct the Respondent
         Authorities to include the name of the petitioner in the
         NRI List of Eligible Candidates for PG Round 3 (2025-26)
         and permit the petitioner to take part in the counselling
         process;


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       (B) Pending admission, hearing and final disposal of the
       present petition, the Hon'ble Court be pleased to direct
       the Respondent to permit the petitioner to take part in
       the counselling process subject to such terms and
       conditions as the court may deem fit and appropriate in
       the interest of justice;

       (C) The Hon'ble Court be pleased to pass such other and
       further order(s) that may be deemed fit and proper in
       the facts and circumstances of the case.


3.    The brief facts of the case are that the petitioner belongs
to the Open Merit (General Category) and has successfully
completed her UG medical course on an NRI seat. The
petitioner appeared in the NEET examination for admission to
the PG medical course (2025), and her All India Rank is
180339.


3.1.The brief question before this Court is whether, according
to the petitioner, she is otherwise eligible for admission to the
PG course under the NRI category on the basis of her PG rank.
However, while uploading the necessary documents along with
the application form for the NEET examination, the petitioner
failed to upload the passbook of her aunt (sponsor), on the
basis of which the case of the petitioner could have been considered



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     C/SCA/1242/2026                        ORDER DATED: 02/02/2026




under the NRI category.


3.2. On account of such lacuna of failing to upload the
passbook, though the petitioner had disclosed the name of the
sponsor and other necessary details in the application form,
respondent No. 1 is now not considering the case of the
petitioner for admission. According to the petitioner, such a
lacuna is not such a big lacuna, which would adversely affect
the career of the petitioner by denying admission to a PG
course, particularly when the petitioner has secured marks
higher than the prescribed cut-off marks.


4.    Learned Advocate Mr. Ankit Shah submitted that the
process for admission to the PG course has already commenced
and that the window is to be closed at around 12:00 p.m.
today, while the matter is being argued at around 11:40 a.m.
He submitted that, in view of the fact that the respondents
have proceeded substantially with the admission process, and
as the petitioner has preferred the present petition at the last
moment, considering the lacuna pointed out on the part of the
petitioner, her case may not be considered positively. He
further submitted that although the petitioner filled up the
application form in accordance with the requirements, the
necessary document, namely the passbook of the sponsor, was


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      C/SCA/1242/2026                                        ORDER DATED: 02/02/2026




not uploaded along with the form, and therefore, on account
of the aforesaid lacuna, the case of the petitioner is not
required to be considered, and accordingly, the respondents
have not considered the case of the petitioner. He, therefore,
prayed for dismissal of the petition.


5.     I     have       considered      the    submissions         of     the    learned
advocates for the parties.


6.     I am keeping this order as short as possible for the
reason that, as stated by Mr. Shah, learned Advocate for the
respondent, the window for admission is to be closed by 12:00
p.m. today, i.e. after about 20 minutes, and therefore, if the
order is not dictated before that time, it may happen that even
if the petitioner ultimately succeeds, the admission process
would be over by then.


6.2. Learned Senior Advocate Mr. Mitul Shelat submitted that
the    respondents          were     provided         with   all        the     necessary
documents which were required to be uploaded by the
petitioner, including the passbook of the sponsor, on account
of the non-uploading of which the case of the petitioner is
sought to be rejected by the respondents. The petitioner, by
way     of    an        email,   sent   the      relevant    documents           to    the


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respondents on 30th January at 8:44 p.m. A copy of the said
email is produced by learned Senior Advocate Mr. Shelat,
which is taken on record, and therefore, according to Mr.
Shelat, all the requirements of uploading the documents stand
fulfilled, though belatedly, by the petitioner. Even learned
Advocate Mr. Ankit Shah could not dispute the aforesaid
aspect.


7.    It is true that initially there was some lacuna on the part
of the petitioner in uploading the form; however, at the same
time, considering the fact that the case of the petitioner
pertains to admission to a PG course through NEET, therefore,
though it is expected that a person who has already become a
doctor and aspires to become a specialist would adhere to and
maintain the requisite precision, and be absolutely meticulous
while uploading the application form. However, such a minor
mistake of failing to upload a single document ought not to
result in a lifetime regret for a student like the petitioner.
Therefore, by imposing suitable costs, an appropriate order can
be passed by this Court while exercising its writ jurisdiction
under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.


8.    Accordingly, looking to the nature of the lacuna pointed
out by the petitioner, which is not disputed by learned


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     C/SCA/1242/2026                                    ORDER DATED: 02/02/2026




Advocate Mr. Ankit Shah, the respondents are directed to
consider the case of the petitioner in the merit list, if the
petitioner is otherwise found eligible. The respondents shall not
reject the claim of the petitioner for a PG NEET seat solely on
account of the lacuna pointed out by learned Senior Advocate
Mr. Mitul Shelat, namely the failure to upload the passbook of
the sponsor while filling up the PG NEET application form.


8.1. Though the requirement of uploading the passbook is
mandatory, such a lacuna ought not to cost the career of a
meritorious student, nor should a less meritorious candidate be
granted admission by ignoring the claim of a more meritorious
student. Therefore, the respondents are directed to consider the
case of the petitioner, if she is otherwise found eligible and
suitable for inclusion in the merit list of PG NEET.


9.     At    this      stage,    learned    Senior    Advocate      Mr.     Shelat
submitted that, in view of the directions issued by this Court,
which may save the career of the petitioner, the petitioner
herself is desirous of donating a sum of ₹1,00,000/- with the
High Court Legal Services Committee within a period of one
week     from today,            irrespective    of   whether    the    petitioner
ultimately secures admission in NEET PG or not.




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10.      In view of the aforesaid statement, the petitioner is
directed to deposit a sum of ₹1,00,000/- with the High Court
Legal Services Committee within a period of one week from
today. The petition is disposed of.


         Direct service today is permitted.


         In addition to direct service, learned Advocate Mr. Ankit
Shah is directed to communicate the decision of this Court to
the concerned respondent forthwith.



                                                                                           (NIRZAR S. DESAI,J)
BHAVIN MEHTA




 Original copy of this order has been signed by the Hon'ble Judge.
 Digitally signed by: BHAVINKUMAR DEVENDRABHAI MEHTA(HCW0108), ENGLISH STENOGRAPHER GRADE I, at High Court of Gujarat on 02/02/2026 14:55:37




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