Sun Nov 17 08:20:00 UTC 2024: **Rajasthan High Court Orders Merit-Based NEET Seat Allocation, Overturning Technical Rejections**

Jaipur, Rajasthan – The Rajasthan High Court has intervened in the NEET UG 2024 admissions process, directing the Centre and the National Testing Agency (NTA) to allocate college seats based solely on merit. The court overturned the rejection of several petitioners whose applications were deemed incomplete due to late submission of certain documents.

The petitioners, a group of NEET candidates, were initially denied seats despite appearing on the provisional merit list. Their applications were rejected because they failed to submit an affidavit/certificate verifying their Biology coursework in the prescribed format before the deadline, a requirement stemming from the absence of subject listings on their Class XI mark sheets due to Covid-related modifications to examination procedures. Although they submitted the necessary documents shortly after the deadline, their applications were rejected.

Justice Sameer Jain’s bench criticized the authorities for conducting the stray vacancy round allocation process during the Diwali holidays with an unreasonably short timeframe for document submission. The court found the short timeframe, coupled with the holiday period, made it practically impossible for the students to obtain the required certificate within the allotted time.

The court emphasized that merit should be the paramount criterion for college admissions, citing previous Supreme Court rulings that prioritize merit over technicalities in exceptional circumstances. The judges deemed this situation exceptional, highlighting the students’ prompt action in approaching the court after the Diwali break and the undisputed presence of Biology on their Class XII mark sheets.

The court’s decision mandates the reallocation of seats, prioritizing the meritorious petitioners over those currently allocated the seats. The NTA and the Centre have been instructed to cancel the allocations of less-meritorious candidates and consider the petitioners’ candidatures based solely on their NEET scores. This ruling underscores the court’s commitment to ensuring fair and merit-based admission procedures.

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