Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court has directed a private medical college in West Bengal to admit a NEET-UG aspirant who was unable to complete his admission on the last scheduled day after being informed that course fees could not be deposited through a cheque.
Justice Biswajit Basu passed the order, holding that the delay in completing the admission process was not attributable to the student and that he could not be denied admission for reasons beyond his control.
The petitioner is a resident of a remote village in North Dinajpur district. His father is a farmer.
The court noted that the student had studied in a village school and was visiting Kolkata for the first time.
The petitioner appeared in NEET-UG 2025 and, though eligible under the OBC-A category, secured a seat on merit without availing a reservation.
He was allotted an MBBS seat under the state quota at the Jagannath Gupta Institute of Medical Sciences and Hospital. The admission process was scheduled between November 18 and November 20, 2025.
Records showed that a provisional allotment letter was uploaded on November 17, 2025, which the petitioner downloaded on November 18. His father arranged Rs 15 lakh out of the total course fee of Rs 25 lakh by selling land and planned to arrange the remaining amount through a student credit scheme. Two cheques were handed over to the petitioner for payment.
The petitioner travelled overnight and reached the college on November 20, the last date for admission. He was then informed that the course fee had to be deposited at IPGME&R (SSKM), Kolkata. On reaching there, he was told that payment through cheque was not acceptable and that only a bank draft or pay order would be accepted. As a result, the petitioner failed to complete the admission process.
The court observed that the provisional allotment letter was completely silent on the mode and place of payment of fees. It held that when a student is asked to move between institutions on the last day of admission and is subsequently informed of restrictive payment requirements, the resulting delay cannot be blamed on the student.
The bench held that extending protection to a student from an economically weaker background in such circumstances was in line with constitutional principles and should not be misunderstood as misplaced sympathy.
Accordingly, the court directed the medical college to complete the admission process of the petitioner on the same day, subject to compliance with formalities.
The West Bengal Medical Counselling Committee was directed to take follow-up steps, while the National Medical Commission and the central counselling authorities were asked to extend necessary cooperation.