NEET-UG 2026: 78 Of 85 MBBS Seats Reserved In 4 Colleges, Allahabad High Court Stays UP Government Order

The Allahabad High Court has stayed a Uttar Pradesh Government Order providing 78 of the 85 MBBS seats in each of four government medical colleges to reserved categories for NEET-UG 2026 admissions, holding that the order was contrary to its earlier directions and the State government's undertaking to follow statutory reservation limits from the 2026-27 academic session.

A division bench of Justices Alok Mathur and Amitabh Kumar Rai also directed the Additional Chief Secretary, Medical Education, Uttar Pradesh, to file a personal affidavit explaining how the September 1, 2026 order came to be issued despite the court's earlier orders. The bench said it would consider initiation of contempt proceedings after examining the affidavit.

What Is The NEET-UG 2026 Reservation Dispute?

The case was filed by two candidates who appeared in NEET-UG 2026, conducted by the National Testing Agency on June 21, 2026. They secured high ranks in the General and EWS categories and sought admission to MBBS courses through the Uttar Pradesh state counselling process.

They challenged the September 1, 2026 Government Order concerning government medical colleges in Ambedkar Nagar, Kannauj, Jalaun and Saharanpur.

Under the disputed arrangement, each college has 85 seats. Of these, 62 were reserved for Scheduled Castes, five for Scheduled Tribes and 11 for Other Backward Classes, leaving only seven seats for unreserved candidates.

The petitioners argued that the arrangement breached the reservation percentages prescribed under the Uttar Pradesh Admission to Educational Institutions (Reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes) Act, 2006, and violated earlier orders of the high court.

NEET-UG 2026 Reservation: What Had Allahabad HC Said Earlier?

The issue had already reached the high court during the NEET-UG 2025 admission process involving the same four medical colleges.

In Sabra Ahmad v. State of U.P., a single judge bench, on August 25, 2025, dealt with a similar reservation arrangement. Court noted that reservation for Scheduled Castes had exceeded 79% and held that the government orders providing such quotas were contrary to Section 4 of the 2006 Act.

Court also observed that reservation exceeding the generally applicable 50% ceiling could not be justified without authority of law. It quashed the relevant government orders and directed the State to conduct a fresh exercise for filling the seats in accordance with the 2006 Act.

The State appealed against this decision. The division bench, however, protected admissions already made for that academic year, noting the disruption that cancellation would cause to the counselling process.

At the same time, the State undertook to implement the statutory reservation regime from the 2026-27 academic session. The undertaking was recorded in the Division Bench's September 4, 2025 order.

The division bench also recorded that the 2006 Act provided for 21% reservation for SCs, 2% for STs and 27% for OBCs in professional colleges, within the 50% ceiling.

Why Did Allahabad HC Stay The NEET-UG 2026 Government Order?

The present bench noted that despite the earlier orders and the undertaking, the State issued the September 1, 2026 Government Order continuing the enhanced reservation in the four medical colleges.

Court said the State had "reneged on the undertaking" given before it and had passed an order "totally contrary to the provisions of the Act of 2006."

It further held that the impugned order was "clearly in the teeth" of the directions issued by the single judge and division bench and the State's own undertaking, adding that it "clearly amounts to contempt of court."

The State sought to rely on the Special Component Plan under which the four medical colleges had been established. Court, however, noted that this argument had already been considered and rejected in the earlier litigation.

Court therefore stayed Clause 6(क)(ii) of the September 1, 2026 Government Order until further orders. It said the State could proceed with admissions, if it chose to do so, but only in accordance with the reservation prescribed under the 2006 Act.

Court also directed the Additional Chief Secretary, Medical Education, to file a personal affidavit within 10 days explaining how the order came to be passed despite the earlier judicial directions. The question of initiating contempt proceedings will be considered after the affidavit is filed.

The matter has been listed for October 12, 2026.

Case Title: Sachin Singh and Another v. State of U.P. through Principal Secretary, Department of Medical Education and Others

Order Date: September 16, 2026

Bench: Justice Alok Mathur and Justice Amitabh Kumar Rai