SC relief to Hamdard Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, admissions allowed for 150 MBBS, 49 PG seats
Supreme Court of India
New Delhi: Granting major relief, the Supreme Court recently allowed the Hamdard Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (HIMSR) to proceed with admissions to 150 MBBS seats and 49 postgraduate medical seats for the academic year 2026-2027.
The medical admissions at the medical institute had earlier faced uncertainty due to a dispute over affiliation consent. While considering the matter, the Apex Court bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan held that the consent of affiliation shall be deemed to have been granted by Jamia Hamdard Deemed to be University, subject to the outcome of the ongoing legal battle between two branches of the Hamdard family.
"Consequently, in continuation of our earlier order dated 11.02.2026, we observe that the Consent of Affiliation is deemed to have been granted by the first respondent-University in favour of the third petitioner-institution subject to the result of this Special Leave Petition for the academic year 2026-2027. This is particularly in respect of 150 seats of MBBS and 49 seats post-graduate seats for the very same academic year, namely, 2026-2027," the bench observed.
"We again observe that the aforesaid order is passed having regard to the peculiar facts of this case where there is an arbitral dispute between two branches of the family and arbitral proceedings are subject to adjudication in this Special Leave Petition," it added.
Background:
The plea before the top court bench was filed seeking directions for the issuance of enrolment numbers to 49 PG students, restoration of access to the NMC portal, and the grant of consent of affiliation for the 2026-2027 academic year.
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported on the ongoing conflict between HIMSR and Jamia Hamdard University. Allegedly, HIMSR was facing challenges due to the ongoing legal and administrative dispute between the founding family members, which led to the withdrawal of affiliation to HIMSR by Jamia Hamdard.
The dispute followed a family settlement dividing control over institutes operating under the Hamdard umbrella. Earlier, citing objections under the UGC Act and UGC (Institutions Deemed to be Universities) Regulations, 2023, Jamia Hamdard had withdrawn consent of affiliation to HIMSR.
Last year, the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC), while releasing the tentative list of medical colleges and the MBBS seat matrix for NEET 2025 counselling, allotted zero seats to HIMSR.
Earlier this year, the issue concerning the PG medical admissions to the institute reached the Supreme Court, which had granted relief to the institute by allowing the addition of 49 postgraduate medical seats at the institute for the NEET PG counselling for the academic year 2025-2026.
The apex court bench of Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan had issued specific directions in this regard to the National Medical Commission, which had earlier withdrawn the 49 MD seats at the institute based on purported letters of Jamia Hamdard (Deemed University).
Following this, on February 11, 2026, after the admission of 49 PG students through the counselling process, the Court deemed consent of affiliation to have been granted in favour of the institute, subject to the outcome of the case.
Last week, during the hearing of the matter, the counsel for the petitioners, Senior Advocate Dhruv Mehta, submitted that unless access to the NMC portal was restored and affiliation-related issues were resolved, HIMSR would be unable to fill up its 150 MBBS seats for the 2026-2027 academic year.
On the other hand, the counsel for Jamia Hamdard, Senior Advocate P. Chidambaram, submitted that the university would not stand in the way of orders being passed in the interest of students. However, the counsel raised concerns over compliance with Regulations 26, 31 and 34 the UGC, observations made by an Expert Committee and also the issues highlighted in a CAG report.
He submitted that any lapse on the part of the college may jeopardize not only the interest of the petitioner-college but also of the respondent-University. Therefore, he submitted that certain directions may be issued to the petitioners in the context of those compliances.
Taking note of the submissions, the Apex Court bench issued directions for the issuance of enrolment numbers to 49 PG students, restoration of access to the NMC portal and acceptance of the institute's disclosure reports. It also directed the University to issue Consent of Affiliation to HIMSR in respect of 150 UG seats and 49 PG seats for the academic year 2026-2027, and mentioned that in the alternative, deemed Consent of Affiliation be granted to Hamdard Institute of Medical Sciences and Research in respect of 150 UG Seats and 49 PG seats for the academic year 2026-2027
"The pendency of this Special Leave Petition would not come in the way of the High Court adjudicating the Writ Petition(s) pending before it. The Writ Petition(s) shall be disposed of as expeditiously as possible," the top court bench clarified.
To view the order, click on the link below:
https://medicaldialogues.in/pdf_upload/2026/06/02/jamia-hamdard-351445.pdf
