A rather emotional scene unfolded in the Madras High Court on Thursday as Justice N. Anand Venkatesh heard the plea of a NEET aspirant who had missed her MBBS admission deadline by just one day due to financial constraints. Observing that the student had not acted intentionally and that merit should not be sacrificed for rigid scheduling, the court directed authorities to permit her to join Madha Medical College.
The hearing was marked by long pauses and a few sharp exchanges, especially when the State stressed that deadlines “cannot be diluted under any circumstance.”
Background
The petitioner, Shilpa Suresh, had secured 251 marks in NEET-UG 2025. Under the minority quota, she received an MBBS seat in Round-III counselling, with her allotment list published on 3 November 2025.
As per the State’s counselling notification, candidates had to report to their allotted colleges on or before 8 November 2025 with the mandatory fee of ₹15,00,000.
But life isn’t always in straight lines. Shilpa’s mother, who studied only up to Class 10 and supports the family while the father works as a painter in Saudi Arabia, struggled to arrange the fees. After pledging all available gold jewellery, she finally managed to raise the amount on 8 November, which unfortunately happened to be a second Saturday, a banking holiday.
Without banking channels, neither a demand draft nor an online transfer through NEFT/RTGS could be made. Despite repeated attempts to contact the college to explain the situation, the family received no response. By the next day, the seat was treated as “not joined” and immediately pushed into stray vacancy.
Court's Observations
The bench listened carefully to all sides. The State argued that the NEET schedule leaves no room for deviation and warned that “granting one relaxation will open doors for many similarly placed candidates,” potentially disrupting the stray vacancy process already underway.
But Justice Venkatesh was unimpressed with arguments based purely on formality.
He noted that the petitioner had acted in good faith and was blocked only by circumstances beyond her control.
“It was sheer bad luck,” the judge remarked during the hearing, “that the very day she managed to gather the money was a second Saturday, making the transaction impossible.”
The court further highlighted that the petitioner, with her higher NEET score, was clearly more meritorious than students who might fill the seat during stray vacancy.
In a telling observation, the bench said,
“This is one of those cases where extraordinary jurisdiction must be exercised to render substantial justice.”
The judge also addressed the State’s apprehension of this turning into a precedent, stating that each case would be assessed strictly on its own facts, and therefore “floodgate fears are too far-fetched.”
Interestingly, the college’s counsel supported the petitioner, noting that they had no objection to her joining since she was comparatively more meritorious than candidates entering through stray vacancy.
Decision
After weighing all facts the petitioner’s marks, financial hardship, and the uncontrollable banking delay the High Court allowed the writ petition.
Justice Venkatesh directed the authorities to permit Shilpa Suresh to join Madha Medical College as per her Round-III allotment, on payment of ₹15,00,000 by 14 November 2025.
The order ends with a caution: if she fails to pay by the new deadline, she will lose her right to the seat.
With that, the courtroom settled into silence, and the judge closed the matter with a firm but compassionate tone a reminder that sometimes, law must breathe with humanity.
Case Title:- Shilpa Suresh v. State of Tamil Nadu
Case No.: W.P. No. 44306 of 2025
