NEET UG admissions: HC stays 91% quota in 4 UP medical colleges

In short

The Allahabad High Court's Lucknow bench stayed nearly 91% reservation for NEET-UG MBBS admissions in four UP government medical colleges on September 16, 2026.
Counselling will proceed with 21% reservation for SC, 2% for ST, and 27% for OBC, with admissions subject to court proceedings.
The court issued a show-cause notice to the additional chief secretary, medical education, for alleged contempt.
The decision affects state-quota seats at Ambedkar Nagar, Kannauj, Saharanpur, and Jalaun medical colleges.
The Periyar Lalai Singh Yadav Charitable Trust of India claims this could affect 188 MBBS seats (176 SC, 12 ST).

The Allahabad High Court’s Lucknow bench on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, stayed rolling out nearly 91% reservation for NEET-UG admissions to MBBS courses in four government medical colleges in Uttar Pradesh. The court found the reservation arrangement contrary to the statutory framework and a breach of an assurance given by the state government.

The interim stay was issued on a petition filed by Sachin Singh and another, challenging the reservation arrangement for state-quota seats in these colleges for the current NEET-UG admission session. The court has allowed counselling to proceed with 21% reservation for Scheduled Castes, 2% for Scheduled Tribes, and 27% for Other Backward Classes, though admissions made will remain subject to the outcome of the ongoing proceedings.

Contempt Notice Issued to Additional Chief Secretary

The bench, comprising Justice Alok Mathur and Justice Amitabh Kumar Rai, issued a show-cause notice to the additional chief secretary, medical education. The notice asks why criminal contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him for allegedly failing to comply with an undertaking given before the court last year.

Ambedkar Nagar Medical College campus — Ambedkar Nagar Medical College. Photo: FindMyCollege

Senior advocate AN Tripathi, representing the petitioners, submitted that the state government had assured during previous proceedings that the reservation arrangement would be brought in line with statutory provisions from the 2026-27 academic session.

Background of the Reservation Dispute

The current dispute originates from an August 2025 judgment by the Allahabad High Court, which had struck down a reservation regime in four government medical colleges. The court had determined that a series of state orders had pushed reservation beyond the prescribed limit, thereby breaching the 50% ceiling mandated under the UP Reservation Act, 2006. Following this, the High Court had directed the state to redraw the seat matrix in accordance with statutory norms.

The four government medical colleges impacted by this decision are Ambedkar Nagar, Kannauj, Saharanpur, and Jalaun. The Periyar Lalai Singh Yadav Charitable Trust of India claims that the current situation could affect 176 SC and 12 ST MBBS seats, totaling 188 seats. The Trust states that these medical colleges were established under the Government of India’s Special Component Plan (SCP).

Previous Seat Matrix and Court Summons

The High Court’s records for these four medical colleges’ seat matrix previously showed 62 SC, 5 ST, and 11 OBC seats out of 85 state-quota seats per college. This arrangement amounted to 248 SC and 20 ST seats across the four institutions. The court had previously summoned the Director General of Medical Education and Training Department and the Principal Secretary of Medical Education Department with relevant records on September 16, 2026, the day the interim stay was issued.

Nishit Kumar is a senior EdTech industry leader with over a decade of experience in building and scaling education platforms, shaping their product, content, and growth strategy. At FindMyCollege, Nishit oversees content and editorial strategy, guiding topic selection and content frameworks to ensure accuracy, relevance, and student-first value across the website.

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