NEET UG 2026: HC stays 91% quota in 4 UP medical colleges, summons ACS Medical Education

The Allahabad High Court’s Lucknow bench today stayed deploying a nearly 91% reservation arrangement for NEET-UG 2026 MBBS admissions in four government medical colleges in Uttar Pradesh. The court allowed counselling to proceed with statutory reservation percentages of 21% for Scheduled Castes (SC), 2% for Scheduled Tribes (ST), and 27% for Other Backward Classes (OBC).

The court also issued a show-cause notice to the Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) Medical Education, Uttar Pradesh, and directed their personal appearance on Tuesday. This action follows alleged non-compliance with previous court orders and an undertaking given by the state regarding reservation limits for the 2026-27 academic session. Admissions made through the ongoing counselling process will remain subject to the outcome of these proceedings.

Disputed Reservation and Court’s Directive

The dispute centers on a Government Order issued on September 1, 2026, which provided 78 of 85 MBBS seats in each of four government medical colleges—Ambedkar Nagar, Kannauj, Jalaun, and Saharanpur—to reserved categories for NEET-UG 2026 admissions. This arrangement allocated 62 seats for Scheduled Castes, five for Scheduled Tribes, and 11 for Other Backward Classes, leaving only seven seats for unreserved candidates in each college.

The court, comprising Justice Rajan Roy and Justice Manjive Shukla, found this arrangement to be “totally contrary to the provisions of the Act of 2006” and “clearly in the teeth” of previous orders. The Uttar Pradesh Admission to Educational Institutions (Reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes) Act, 2006, stipulates 21% reservation for SCs, 2% for STs, and 27% for OBCs in professional colleges, with an overall 50% reservation ceiling. The court stated that the state’s action “clearly amounts to contempt of court.”

Background and Alleged Non-Compliance

This current legal action is a continuation of an earlier dispute regarding reservation in the same four medical colleges for the NEET-UG 2025 admission process. In August 2025, a single-judge bench with Sabra Ahmad v. State of U.P. Had struck down a reservation regime, finding that Scheduled Caste reservation had exceeded 79%, breaching the 50% ceiling under the 2006 Act. The court had directed the state to redraw the seat matrix based on what statutory norms.

Following an appeal by the state, a division bench on September 4, 2025, protected admissions already made for the 2025-26 academic year. However, the state government had given an undertaking to the court that the reservation arrangement would be brought in line with statutory provisions from the 2026-27 academic session. The current petition, filed by the Youth for Equality Foundation and by two candidates, Sachin Singh and Another, who appeared in NEET-UG 2026, alleges that the state reneged on this undertaking by issuing the September 1, 2026 Government Order.

Next Steps for Authorities and Candidates

The Allahabad High Court has directed the Additional Chief Secretary, Medical Education, Uttar Pradesh, to file a personal affidavit within 10 days, explaining the circumstances under which the September 1, 2026 order was issued. The next hearing for the case is scheduled for October 12, 2026.

Candidates participating in the UP NEET UG 2026 counselling are advised to continue following the official counselling schedule. They should check the latest seat matrix and category-wise seat information, noting that the earlier 91% reservation arrangement will not be applied to these four colleges. If allotted one of these colleges, candidates should carefully review the latest admission instructions.

For the 2026-27 academic year, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has released the seat matrix, indicating a total of 136,939 MBBS seats across the country, an increase from 127,028 in the previous session. Uttar Pradesh accounts for 14,000 MBBS seats this academic year.

Further reading

• NEET MBBS admission scam: Dehradun police arrest three, CSCs under radar
• NEET UG admissions: HC stays 91% quota in 4 UP medical colleges
• NEET cutoff: previous closing ranks and marks Next step
• Ladakh Central Pool MBBS/BDS: Apply by Sep 10 for 2026-27 single merit list Applications open
• CUET application form: eligibility, dates and how to apply
• NEET: complete exam guide

Written by Nishit Kumar

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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