Uttarakhand varsity cancels provisional MBBS admission of 15 candidates after certificates fail verification
Dehradun: Amid the ongoing probe into alleged use of fake freedom fighter dependent and caste certificates to secure MBBS admissions in state medical colleges, Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Uttarakhand Medical Education University has recently cancelled the provisional MBBS admissions of 15 candidates after the domicile, category and/or sub-category certificates submitted by them failed to clear the verification process.
According to the university, the 15 candidates were allotted MBBS seats across five government medical colleges in the state. Of these, five candidates were allotted seats at Government Medical College Haldwani, four at Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali Government Institute of Medical Science and Research, Srinagar, three at Government Medical College Haridwar, two at Government Medical College Doon and one at Government Medical College Almora.
The university took the action on Monday evening ahead of the third round of Uttarakhand NEET UG 2026 counselling, for which registration is scheduled to begin on Tuesday.
Also read- Uttarakhand NEET Admissions row: 36 last-minute issued certificates under scrutiny
As per latest TOI report, among the cancelled admissions included candidates who had secured seats under categories such as OBC, SC, orphan and EWS. Some of the affected candidates had also opted for the FLOAT option, which allows candidates to retain their allotted seats while remaining eligible for an upgrade in a subsequent counselling round.
Issuing a notice on Monday evening, the medical university said that verification reports received from the district magistrates regarding the domicile, category and sub-category certificates of candidates would be uploaded on the counselling portal from time to time.
"Upon receipt of the verification reports from the district magistrates regarding the domicile, category and sub-category certificates of the candidates, the list of candidates shall be uploaded on the counselling portal from time to time," mentioned the notice.
The notice further added that the affected candidates would have no claim over their provisionally allotted seats. The verification of documents submitted during the first two rounds of state-quota counselling is continuing. The university is expected to issue the detailed schedule and instructions for the third round separately.
Commenting on the matter, Dr Ashutosh Sayana, director of the Uttarakhand Medical Education Department, said, "All the third-round admissions will be considered provisional too unless all the documents of the candidates are verified."
Background
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that altogether five individuals, including four female students, were booked for allegedly using fake documents to obtain MBBS seats under the Freedom Fighters' Dependants quota in Uttarakhand. Taking action against the four female students, the Uttarakhand Medical Education Department has cancelled their MBBS admissions. After this, the entire process of issuing and verifying such documents came under scrutiny.
Afterwards, the SIT arrested two people in connection with the case, and the Uttarakhand Medical Education Department has directed principals of all 10 government and private medical colleges participating in the state counselling process to verify the documents of candidates who claimed any category or sub-category benefit during NEET-UG 2025 admissions.
Social activist, Bahuguna who has been raising the issue, met State Health and Medical Education Minister Uniyal and submitted the list of a total of 370 such candidates, demanding a detailed investigation into their certificates. He clarified that he is not claiming that certificates of all candidates on the list are fake but said that available records and admission-related information raise suspicions regarding these cases, necessitating official verification of the documents.
In response, Uniyal said that the government is taking the matter seriously. Suspecting the involvement of a major racket, he has directed the Dehradun District Magistrate to conduct an inquiry and submit a report within a week.
While investigating the matter, the Dehradun District Magistrate, in its inquiry, found two revenue sub-inspectors responsible for alleged negligence in verifying documents before issuing the disputed certificates to medical students and accordingly suspended them.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Uttarakhand Police has arrested another accused in the case. The accused is reportedly a consultant with a private firm in Bhopal that facilitates admissions to private medical, engineering and computer application courses.
Also read- Uttarakhand MBBS admission fraud: 3rd accused arrested, Rs 5.5 lakh cash recovered
