Supreme Court Allows TN NEET-UG Students to Regain MBBS Seats After Fee Payment Lapse

The Supreme Court on December 5 granted relief to three NEET-UG candidates from Tamil Nadu who had lost their MBBS seats after they could not pay the admission fees on time due to technical and practical difficulties.

A Bench of Justice PS Narasimha and Justice AS Chandurkar allowed the students to complete their fee payment by December 10, giving them another chance to secure their MBBS seats. The Court also made it clear that this direction was passed only because of the special facts of the case and should not be treated as a precedent for future matters.

The Court further asked the Tamil Nadu authorities to allot seats to these students from the available vacant management quota seats, ensuring they are not denied admission for reasons beyond their control.

One of the petitioners, Shilpa Suresh, had earlier approached the Madras High Court after she failed to pay the fee within the deadline. She argued that she faced financial issues and finally managed to arrange the fee on November 8, the last date. However, since it was a second Saturday, she could not transfer the amount through NEFT or RTGS. She also said that repeated attempts to contact the college failed. As she did not join on time, her seat was treated as vacant and moved to the stray vacancy round.

A single judge of the Madras High Court had initially granted her relief, noting her good NEET-UG score. But the next day, a Division Bench set aside that order, observing that all candidates must strictly follow the timeline given in the prospectus. The Bench also remarked that many other students may have faced similar issues, and the rules could not be relaxed for one candidate. Despite dismissing her plea, the judges personally advised her not to lose hope and consider other career options.

Two other students with similar grievances also approached the Supreme Court, and all three received relief.

Case Details

• T. Dhanya v. State of Tamil Nadu & Ors. | W.P.(C) No. 1123/2025
  
• Vicksho v. State of Tamil Nadu & Ors. | SLP(C) No. 34369/2025
  
• Shilpa Suresh S v. State of Tamil Nadu & Ors. | SLP(C) No. 33657/2025