NEET 2026 NRI quota admissions: Delhi HC says guardianship certificate prima facie not required for candidates above 18
New Delhi: In a recent ruling, the Delhi High Court prima facie held that the requirement of producing a legal guardianship certificate does not apply to NEET-UG candidates seeking admission under the NRI category if they have already attained the age of 18 years.
A Delhi HC bench of Justice Jasmeet Singh observed that the requirement of such a certificate under the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 is applicable only to the minor children and persons taking care of minors.
"The same, prima-facie, do not seem to apply to persons who are aged 18 and above," observed the bench, while granting interim relief to a NEET-UG 2026 candidate who sought admission under the NRI quota. The bench has stayed the Medical Counselling Committee's requirement for the petitioner-candidate to produce documentary proof of guardianship under the 1890 Act.
Case Background:
After clearing the NEET-UG 2026 examination, the petitioner sought admission to medical (allied) courses under the 15% NRI Quota. She is being sponsored by her maternal uncle, being her nearest relative, who is an Overseas Citizen of India/NRI and is settled in Australia.
For the purpose of getting admitted, the petitioner uploaded/submitted all the required documents for proving that the said guardian has always treated her as his ward. Further, she claimed that the documents submitted were in accordance with law and as per the guidelines of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Consortium of Deemed Universities in Karnataka v. Union of India, (2022).
To the surprise of the petitioner, her documents were rejected by the online portal on the ground that she did not upload the Court order showing that her sponsor is her legal guardian.
Filing a plea before the Delhi High Court, the petitioner challenged the impugned notification dated 27.05.2026, especially the last paragraph that stated- "Hence, the candidates applying for NRI Quota seats will have to abide/adhere with the abovementioned eligibility criteria for participation in counselling as NRI candidate/candidature. It is further informed to NEET aspirants for the academic year 2026 that MCC/competent authority will seek evidential proof/ legal document from the candidates as in point 3 (d) & (e) of the order, during counselling, demonstrating that the sponsor is actually Bonafide legal guardian of the candidate as per Guardians and Wards Act, 1890."
The counsel for the petitioner referred to the definition clause and more particularly Sections 4(2) and 4(3) of the Guardian and Wards Act, 1890, where the definition of "guardian" means a person having the care of a person or a minor or of his property, or of both is person and property. The definition of "ward" means a minor for whose person or property, or both, there is a guardian.
He also referred to Section 8 of the Act which states the following:
“8. Persons entitled to apply for order.—An order shall not be made under the last foregoing section except on the application of—
(a) the person desirous of being, or claiming to be, the guardian of the minor, or
(b) any relative or friend of the minor, or
(c) the Collector of the district or other local area within which the minor ordinarily resides or in which he has property, or
(d) the Collector having authority with respect to the class to which the minor belongs”
Observations by the Court:
Taking note of the submissions, the HC bench observed, "A perusal of the above shows that the GWA is only applicable to the minor children and persons taking care of a minors. The same, prima-facie, do not seem to apply to persons who are aged 18 and above."
The Court noted that the petitioner's was born in 2007 and therefore, he has crossed the age of 18 years.
"Thus, prima-facie, the impugned portion of the circular dated 27.05.2026, seems to be inapplicable qua the petitioner as the petitioner has already crossed the age of 18 years and thus, does not need to obtain the certificate required under the GWA," the bench observed.
"For the said reasons, till the next date of hearing, the applicability of the impugned paragraph, as reproduced above, of the notification dated 27.05.2026 shall remain stayed qua the petitioner. The petitioner shall be permitted to upload the documents forthwith and if not possible, physically hand over the same," the bench ordered, while listing the matter for further hearing on 12.10.2026.
To view the order, click on the link below:
https://medicaldialogues.in/pdf_upload/2026/09/23/delhi-hc-guardians-and-wards-act-476699.pdf
