Army wards not eligible under Nagaland MBBS quota— Centre tells HC

DIMAPUR — The Centre has informed the Gauhati High Court that wards of army personnel are not covered under Clause 4 of the Office Memorandum dated July 28, 2025, which specifies eligibility for MBBS seats under the central pool quota.

Hearing an appeal filed by Nagaland government in the ongoing MBBS seat dispute on September 18, a division bench comprising Justice Michael Zothankhuma and Justice Anjan Moni Kalita recorded the clarification submitted by the Central Government Counsel (CGC).

The CGC told the court that as per instructions received from the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare through a letter dated September 17, 2025, “Clause 4 of the Office Memorandum dated 28.07.2025 is not applicable and does not include army personnel, inasmuch, a separate quota has been reserved for army personnel under the central pool seats.”

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The clarification came in response to the court’s earlier directive on September 8, when it asked the Centre to state clearly whether army officers were included in the clause, which allows employees of the central or state governments posted in a state to be considered eligible.

The case relates to a petition filed by Vatsala Panghal, daughter of an army colonel posted in Kohima, who challenged her exclusion from Nagaland’s MBBS selection list despite securing higher marks than other selected candidates.

The Kohima Bench had earlier ordered the directorate of Technical Education to allot her a seat, prompting the state government to appeal before the Principal Bench.

On Thursday, the bench noted that the last date for admission to MBBS courses is October 8, 2025. However, as no one appeared for the private respondent (Panghal), the court adjourned the matter to September 22 to allow her counsel to be present.

The court also made the September 17 letter from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare part of the record.