Nagaland MBBS seat row: HC seeks Centre’s stand on eligibility of army officer’s wards

DIMAPUR — The Gauhati High Court has directed the Union of India to clarify whether wards of army officers are eligible for MBBS seats under Nagaland’s central pool quota.

A division bench of Justice Michael Zothankhuma and Justice Anjan Moni Kalita issued the order on September 8 while hearing Nagaland government’s appeal against the Kohima Bench’s August 14 ruling, which had directed that a central pool MBBS seat be allotted to Vatsala Panghal, daughter of an army colonel posted in Kohima.

The court observed that the key issue is whether clause 4 of the Office Memorandum dated July 28, 2025—stating that “employees of the central/other state/UT govt. posted in and having their headquarters within the state/UT concerned will be eligible”—includes defence personnel.

While Nagaland government argued that the clause applies only to civilian officers, the petitioner maintained it also covers army personnel.

The bench noted that the central government counsel had earlier appeared without formal instructions from the Union of India. It directed the counsel to obtain instructions and submit them to the court by September 18.

Also read: Nagaland MBBS seat row: Gauhati High Court puts Kohima Bench ruling on hold

The interim stay keeping one MBBS seat vacant will continue until then.

Background

For 2025–26, Nagaland has 152 MBBS seats, including 42 in the central pool for states with limited medical facilities.

Panghal, daughter of the commanding officer of 1 Nagaland Battalion NCC, scored 455 in NEET, higher than the second-ranked candidate in the state merit list, but was excluded from the provisional selection.

She challenged the state’s 2021 notification requiring candidates to have studied in Nagaland and parents to have resided in the state for at least three years.

Justice Mridul Kumar Kalita had ruled that the notification “totally excludes” wards of central government employees posted in Nagaland, contrary to the July 2025 guidelines and Article 14, and directed the Directorate of Technical Education to allot the vacant seat to Panghal.

Nagaland government appealed against this ruling, arguing that a one-year posting does not entitle a candidate to a state quota seat, and emphasised its authority to frame eligibility criteria.

The state had also pointed out that there were an “equal number of MBBS seats (42)” earmarked separately for wards of military officers.

Meanwhile, student bodies have raised objections, arguing that allowing non-indigenous candidates could disadvantage local students.

They also demanded disqualification of the candidature, stating that the candidate did not belong to any recognised scheduled tribe of Nagaland, and therefore could not claim the state quota.