In a significant ruling, the Bombay High Court has intervened to ensure stability in the postgraduate medical admission process for Goa Medical College (GMC), directing authorities to conduct the entire procedure under existing rules without altering the reservation scheme.
Court Protects Medical Aspirants from Mid-Process Rule Changes
The High Court bench comprising Justices Sarang V Kotwal and Ashish S Chavan delivered this judgment while hearing a petition filed by 27 MBBS graduates who have cleared the NEET examination and are seeking admission to postgraduate courses at GMC. Represented by advocates D Lawande and Jay Mathew, the petitioners expressed serious concerns about authorities potentially changing admission rules midway through the selection process.
The court found their apprehension "quite genuine" and observed that it was "clear" that authorities were indeed in the process of modifying the rules. "...at this stage, if the rules are changed, their choices, which they already made, would be adversely affected and they would suffer irreparable loss," the HC stated in its ruling.
Vague Advertisement Creates Uncertainty
The controversy stemmed from an advertisement issued on November 3, 2025, which mentioned that rules, counselling schedule, eligibility criteria, merit lists, and allotment procedures would be notified on the Directorate of Technical Education (DTE) website. The court criticized this clause as "quite vague" and noted that candidates shouldn't be left wondering about which rules would apply during the remaining selection stages.
"This would lead to uncertainty. This is a clear case of arbitrariness," the division bench emphasized, highlighting the administrative flaw in the process.
Proposed Reservation Changes Spark Legal Challenge
The petitioners had applied under the Goa (Rules for Admission to Postgraduate Degree and Diploma Courses of the Goa University at the Goa Medical College) Rules 2024. However, through Right to Information (RTI) applications, they discovered that authorities were processing proposals to amend governing rules and introduce a 100-point roster reservation system for postgraduate admissions at GMC for the 2025-26 academic year.
While Advocate General Devidas Pangam argued that rule changes were necessary in the interest of social justice, the court prioritized the protection of candidates who had already begun the admission process based on existing rules. With only the counselling step remaining to be completed by December 1, 2025, the court's directive ensures the process concludes under the reservation scheme implemented since 2023.
The High Court has now mandated the public health department, Goa Medical College, and the directorate of technical education to conduct and conclude the entire admission and counselling process strictly according to the rules in force when the advertisement was issued, providing much-needed clarity and protection for medical aspirants.
