NEET 2026: HP HC directs MBBS admission for candidate after counselling portal glitch, orders Rs 1 lakh costs

Shimla: A technical glitch in the university's online counselling portal, which prevented a candidate from completing the choice-filling process despite depositing the prescribed security fee, has prompted the Himachal Pradesh High Court to direct the authorities, including Atal Medical and Research University (AMRU), to grant her admission to an MBBS course in a government medical college for the academic year 2026-27.

The petitioner in this case is a Scheduled Caste (SC) candidate who appeared in the NEET-UG 2026 examination and secured 442 marks out of 720 in NEET-UG 2026. Despite depositing the prescribed Rs 1 lakh security fee within the deadline for the second round of counselling, she could not fill in her college choices because the payment was not reflected on the counselling portal.

Taking note of the university's failure to update and verify the transaction in time, Justice Sandeep Sharma directed the authorities, including Atal Medical and Research University (AMRU), to grant her admission and also ordered to pay Rs 1 lakh as costs to the petitioner within two weeks.

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As per Himbu Mail report, the petitioner's name was at merit rank 1090 in the second-round counselling list published by AMRU on September 8, 2026 following her registration on the official online counselling portal maintained by AMRU (respondent No. 2). Eligible candidates were required to fill in their choices between September 8 and September 9.

She deposited the security fee of Rs 1 lakh through NEFT/RTGS/e-challan on September 8 itself. However, as the payment did not appear on the counselling portal within the stipulated time, she was unable to proceed with choice filling.

The candidate subsequently contacted the university several times between September 9 and September 15 through emails and personal visits to its office. She also submitted the relevant bank details and payment receipts to establish that the amount had been deposited within the stipulated period.

Despite these communications, the respondents maintained that the payment had not been received by the university.

According to instructions placed on record by the standing counsel for AMRU from the software company managing the online counselling portal, the payment deposited by the petitioner was not reflected in the online ERP system until September 29, 2026—weeks after the second-round choice-filling deadline had passed.

Although the petitioner was later allowed to participate in subsequent third and stray rounds, all seats had reportedly been filled by that time, and the admission process for MBBS/BDS courses for the academic year concluded on October 26, 2026.

What did the High Court say?

Hearing the matter, Justice Sandeep Sharma observed that the petitioner had deposited the required security fee within the prescribed time and taken all possible steps to inform the authorities about the transaction. However, the failure of the portal and the authorities' negligence in checking the payment records prevented her from participating in the counselling process.

Referring to the Supreme Court judgments in Asha v. Pt. B.D. Sharma University of Health Sciences and S. Krishna Sradha v. State of Andhra Pradesh, the Court observed that a meritorious candidate should not lose an opportunity to pursue a professional course because of mistakes committed by admission authorities.

It further noted that cut-off dates and technical difficulties cannot be relied upon to deny relief when the candidate is not responsible for the lapse. Since the petition was filed and heard within the permissible one-month period after the closure of admissions, the Court considered it appropriate to intervene.

Accordingly, the High Court directed the respondents to grant the student admission to an MBBS course in a government medical college for the academic year 2026-27 and ordered the university to pay Rs 1 lakh in costs within two weeks.

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