The Gauhati High Court has ruled that wards of defence personnel cannot claim MBBS seats under Nagaland’s state quota, overturning an earlier Kohima Bench order in favour of Vatsala Panghal, daughter of a serving Army officer stationed in the state.
The court clarified that Nagaland’s quota for states with limited medical infrastructure and the central defence quota serve different purposes. A candidate eligible under one scheme cannot automatically claim the other. “For such benefits, a defence personnel cannot be treated as a central government employee,” the bench stated.
Panghal had scored 455 marks in NEET 2025 and challenged her omission from the state merit list, citing recent Union Health Ministry guidelines that treat wards of central government employees posted in a state as local residents. The earlier ruling by a single judge had allowed her claim, citing constitutional fairness.
However, the state government’s appeal argued that allowing her dual entitlement would go against the purpose of the two distinct quotas. The Division Bench agreed, emphasizing that defence and deficient-state quotas are mutually exclusive.
The case drew attention locally, with the Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) and Nagaland Medical Students’ Association (NMSA) supporting the state’s position. They argued that permitting such claims could deny opportunities to indigenous Naga students, sparking wider debate about fairness and quota policies in Nagaland.
For the 2025–26 academic year, Nagaland has 152 MBBS seats, including 42 under the state quota and 45 reserved for defence personnel. (With inputs from EM)
