Madras High Court

The State Of Tamil Nadu vs Shilpa Suresh S on 14 November, 2025

Author: S.M.Subramaniam

Bench: S. M. Subramaniam, Mohammed Shaffiq

WA No. 3489 of 2025

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS

DATED: 14-11-2025

CORAM

THE HONOURABLE MR JUSTICE S. M. SUBRAMANIAM
AND
THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE MOHAMMED SHAFFIQ

WA No. 3489 of 2025

1. The State of Tamil Nadu, Rep. by the
Additional Chief Secretary to Government,
Health and Family Welfare Department,
Chennai -600 009.

2. The Director,
Directorate of Medical Education and Research,
College Road, Chennai -600 006.

3. The Secretary,
The Selection Committee, Directorate of Medical
Education and Research, No. 162 Periyar E.V.R.
High Road, Kilpauk, Chennai -600 010.
Appellant(s)

1. Shilpa Suresh S,
D/o. K.Suresh, Aalikkanvilai Veedu,
Anucodu, Kollemcodu PO, Kollangodu
Kanyakumari -629 160.

2.The Dean,
Madha Medical College and Research Institute ,

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WA No. 3489 of 2025

Kundrathur Main Rd, Kovur (Near Porur),
Chennai -600 128.
Respondent(s)

PRAYER
To set aside the Order dated 13.11.2025 passed in W.P.No.44306 of 2025 on
the file of this Court, Madras and allow the Writ Appeal and pass such further
or other order as this Court may deem fit and proper in the circumstances of
the case and thus render justice.

For Appellant(s): Mrs.M.Sneha
Special Counsel

For Respondent(s): Mrs.Abisha Isaac
for Ms.H.Mary Sowmi Rexi
for M/s.Isaac Chambers for R1

ORDER

(Order of the Court was made by Mohammed Shaffiq J.)

Present writ appeal is filed by State Government, aggrieved by the order

of the learned Judge, whereby respondents were directed to permit the

nd petitioners in the writ petition to join 2 respondent college in terms of a

allotment in Round 3 counselling of Tamil Nadu State MBBS NEET UG 2025 –

2026 by accepting specified fee of Rs.15 lakhs, after finding petitioner had not

paid the fees by 12 noon 08.11.2025 i.e., time fixed in terms of communication

dated 25.10.2025 to pay the fees for being allotted a seat to the medical

course.

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2. For ease of reference parties shall be referred to in terms of their

ranks in the writ petition.

3.Brief facts:

3.1. Petitioner appeared for NEET UG 2025-26 and obtained a score of

251. On 06.06.2025, third respondent Selection Committee issued a

Prospectus for admission to MBBS course 2025-26 for State of Tamil Nadu.

Petitioner applied under minority quota for both Government quota counselling

and management quota counselling. Petitioner was allotted a seat in the

fourth respondent college under minority quota in the third round of

counselling. Counselling is set to have taken place between 30.10.2025 to

01.11.2025 and provisional list was published on 03.11.2025. It is relevant to

note that in terms of notification dated 25.10.2025, after the publication of

results, it was required that the candidates have to download the allotment

order and report before the concerned college by 08.11.2025.

3.2. Petitioner were to pay a sum of ₹15 lakhs as fees for admission to

the fourth respondent college. It was found by the learned Judge that

petitioner’s mother had to take a lot of effort to muster the above amount,

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apparently by pledging gold jewels, and that she was able to mobilise funds

only on 08.11.2025 i.e., date fixed for downloading allotment order after

payment of fee.

4. Learned counsel for the 3 respondent would submit that petitioner

would have to pay fees on or before 12 noon on 08.11.2025 in terms of

communication dated 25.10.2025, on such payment the petitioner would be

permitted to download the allotment order. Admittedly petitioner was unable to

meet the deadline in terms of making the payment consequently was not

granted rather denied access to download the allotment order.

4.1. It was further submitted that if a candidate reaches Round 3

counselling and allotted a seat but for any reason doesn't join the allotted

college, the said candidate shall be rendered ineligible for being considered in

stray vacant round. As a matter of fact it was submitted that pursuant to

completion of third round counselling, stray vacancy round contemplated in

terms of the prospectus was also called for vide online notification dated

11.11.2025.

4.2. It was further submitted prospectus are binding on the college and

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the applicants / candidates. Time lines set out in the prospectus and

notification / communication issued pursuant thereto are binding, failure to

adhere to the time lines would result in the candidate losing its right and next

candidate being eligible for consideration for allotment of a seat. Courts ought

to exercise restraint in relaxing conditions including time lines fixed in terms of

and pursuant to the prospectus. Relaxation by Courts of the terms of

admission in the prospectus and notification / communication issued pursuant

thereto may well distort the selection process and may open up flood gates of

litigation. Thus, the above course ought to be avoided.

5. To the contrary, learned counsel for the petitioner would submit that

the petitioner was not able to pay the stipulated fees on or before 12 noon of

08.11.2025 as informed vide notification dated 25.10.2025 only due to the fact

th that the petitioner's mother, had only passed 10 standard while her father is a

daily wage employee, thus were unable to comprehend / understand the

technicality involved in admission process including payment of fees. She

would submit that the petitioner's parents had mobilised the funds for payment

of fees on 08.11.2025, though after the time line of 12 noon as fixed in terms

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of the notification / communication dated 25.10.2025. She would submit that

being an admission to a medical course, it is only desirable that petitioner be

permitted to join the course and would submit no interference

is warranted with the order of the learned Judge, else a less

meritorious student would step in place of petitioner. It is also submitted by the

learned counsel for the petitioner that payment for the third round of

counselling was to be made through RTGS only in seven banks, namely

Indian Oversees Bank, Union Bank of India, State Bank of India, Bank of

Baroda, Canara Bank, Indian Bank and HDFC Bank. It was submitted that the

only bank account petitioner's mother was holding was with Tamil Nadu

Mercantile Bank and would submit that by the time petitioner's mother was

able to muster the funds, she was unable to transfer to the seven notified

banks within the time lines fixed vide notification / communication dated

25.10.2025. It was submitted that failure to comply with the time limit was not

intentional but only due to the fact that they were unable to do so

in view of the economic challenges faced by the petitioner and her parents.

She would also submit that 08.11.2025 happens to be the

second Saturday and therefore, the bank was not functioning.

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6. We have considered the rival submissions.

7. Before proceeding further it may be necessary to take a look at

relevant clauses of prospectus, the same is extracted hereunder:

“(b) Candidates are deemed to have read, agreed and

accepted this prospectus and the terms and conditions of the

counselling mentioned in this prospectus for Tamil Nadu State

2025 - 2026 UG (MBBS / BDS) Counselling on completing the

online submission of application form.

.....

(f) All payments including the Security Deposit & Tuition fee

will be forfeited if a candidate who has been allotted a seat in the

Round 3 or subsequent rounds and does not join the respective

institution. Also, the Security Deposit will be forfeited if the

admission gets cancelled due to any reason. E.g. in case the

candidate gives wrong information at the time of registration on

the basis of which a seat may be allotted and later cancelled by

the Admission Authorities at the time of reporting or fails to

produce the required documents at the time of admission (within

stipulated time).

.....

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2. GLOSSARY OF TERMS:

.....

14. Allotment : Refers to a candidate being allotted a seat

based on his choice preferred and on the basis of Merit & Rule of

Reservation. Allotment does not confer the rights on the seat

unless the candidate pays the prescribed Tuition Fees and

downloads the Allotment order within the stipulated time and also

joins the institution within the specified period.

15. Allotment Order : Refers to the Provisional Allotment

Orders issued by the Selection Committee which the candidate

downloads from the website after payment of necessary Fees.

This order is necessary for joining the allotted institute. Candidate

will not be allowed to join the course without genuine allotment

order.

.....

19. Free Exit : Refers to candidate having free choice in

quitting/not joining their allotted course in Round 1 before the

stipulated date without any adverse condition upon them. This

contrasts with provisions like Forfeiture of Fees & Security

Deposit or Discontinuation Fee or debarment from Participation in

counselling which a candidate has to face (as the case may be) if

he/she quits or not join the course after the stipulated date in

Round 1 or any time after allotment in subsequent rounds.

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.....

22.Not Joined : Refers to the candidate who after being

allotted has not joined the institution. In round 1 and 2. Not-

Joined status offers free exit. But after Round 2 Not-Joined status

results in Forfeiture of Security Deposit and tuition fees paid(If

any).

In Stray rounds or Subsequent rounds (if any) if the candidate

downloads allotment order. candidate is considered as joined. If

after allotted he does not download allotment order he/she is will

not be eligible to participate in further rounds of counselling and

next academic year counselling in addition to forfeiture of

Security Deposit & Tuition Fees (if any) .

Note : The Fee structure for NRI lapsed seats is different &

Higher than that of regular MQ seats

15. ROUNDS OF ONLINE COUNSELLING:

.....

NOT ELIGIBLE CANDIDATES FOR ROUND 3:

.....

(e) If a candidate is allotted during State Round 3, he/she will

have to join the allotted college. Allotted candidates during

Round 3 will not be eligible for subsequent State Stray Vacancy

round.”

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8. From a reading of the above clauses in the prospectus, the following

position emerges:

(a) Candidates are deemed to have read, agreed and

accepted the terms and conditions of the prospectus including

those relating to counselling.

(b) Candidate allotted a seat in Round 3 or subsequent

rounds does not join the institution, candidate will not be eligible

for subsequent stray vacancy round and would also result in

forfeiture of security deposit.

(c) There appears to be a marked difference in the

consequence that follow a candidate exiting after round 1 and 2

when contrasted with in exit in round 3 and thereafter. While

candidate exiting round 1 and 3, is permitted a free exit without

forfeiture. However, exit in round 3 and thereafter is not free and

would result in forfeiture. This is a policy decision of the state of

Tamil Nadu with regard to admission to MBBS / BDS degree

courses.

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9. It appears to us that it is beyond the pale of any doubt that once a

candidate fail to pay fees within the time limit, candidate would lose her right

of allotment and render candidate ineligible for consideration in stray vacancy

round, apart from deposit being forfeited.

10. Against this background two questions may arise for consideration,

viz.,

(a) whether prospectus are binding and if it is permissible for

the courts to relax the terms of prospectus;

(b) whether considering the predicament faced by the

student it is open for this Court to relax the conditions in the

prospectus on sympathetic grounds.

11. It is trite that prospectus are binding and may well have the force of

law. The Principle that the prospectus is binding on all persons concerned

has been laid by the Supreme Court in Punjab Engineering College,

Chandigarh v. Sanjay Gulati . Following the same, a Division Bench of this

Court has also observed in Dr. Rathnaswamy, A. v. Director of Medical

1. AIR 1983 SC 580

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Education , that the rules and norms of the prospectus are to be strictly

and solemnly adhered to. The same view is also taken by another Division

Bench of this Court in Nithiyan, P. and S.P.Prasanna v. State of Tamil

Nadu.

12. It may also be relevant to refer to a Full Bench Judgment of the High

Court of Punjab and Haryana in the case of Amardeep Singh Sahota v. State

of Punjab , wherein, it was held that prospectus issued for admission to a

course, has the force of law and it was not open to alteration; eligibility for

admission to a Course has to be seen according to the prospectus issued

before the Entrance Examination and that the admission has to be made on

the basis of instructions given in the prospectus, having the force of law;

Thus, it is settled law that the provisions contained in the information brochure

for the Common Entrance Test 1997 have the force of law and have to be

strictly complied with. No modification can be made by the Court in exercise of

powers under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. It is thus clear that the

petitioners having failed to pay fees within the time lines in terms of the

2. 1986 WLR 207

3. 1994 WLR 624

4. (1993) 4 SLR 673

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prospectus and notification / communication issued pursuant thereto, cannot

claim relaxation of the terms of prospectus as a matter of right.

13. While coming to second question as to whether this Court could

relax the condition on the basis of sympathy we are afraid the answer is got to

be in the negative. Learned counsel for the petitioner, in response, placed

reliance on the judgement of the Supreme Court in the case of S.Krishna

Sraddha Vs. State of Andhra Pradesh and Others , and in particular laid

emphasis on paragraph 13, which reads as under:

“13. In light of the discussion/observations made hereinabove, a meritorious candidate/student who has been denied an admission in MBBS course illegally or irrationally by the authorities for no fault of his/her and who has approached the Court in time and so as to see that such a meritorious candidate may not have to suffer for no fault of his/her, we answer the reference as under:

13.1. That in a case where candidate/student has approached the court at the earliest and without any delay and that the question is with respect to the admission in medical course all the efforts shall be made by the court concerned to dispose of the proceedings by giving priority and at the earliest.”

14. On a reading of the above paragraphs, it would be clear that, Apex

Court was dealing with a case where admission was denied illegally and

5. (2020) 17 SCC 465

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irrationally by the authorities and the candidate was not at fault. Learned

counsel for the petitioner has not been able to point out as to how the denial of

the admission is either illegal or irrational nor the learned Judge found the

denial of admission is either illegal or irrational. Importantly, the predicament

which petitioner finds herself is only due to reasons attributable to non

compliance at her end. To the contrary, the learned Judge in fact found as a

matter of fact that there has been a non-compliance with the deadline set out

in the notification as well as prospectus. Having found so, the learned Judge

had only on the premise that a less meritorious student would get a seat,

proceeded to direct that admission be granted to the petitioner. We are not

able to concur with the view of the learned Judge for it would virtually amount

to rewriting of prospectus, which we are afraid is an excess of the power of

judicial review under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.

15. Sympathetic though we are inclined to the candidate's plight

prospectus being binding sympathy may not confer power on this Court to

either relax the terms of prospectus or to direct respondent college to allot her

a seat in derogation of the terms of the prospectus. Sympathy we are afraid

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cannot give any succour / relief to the petitioner . We also concur with the

submission by the learned counsel for the respondent that relaxation of the

condition/clause in prospectus would distort the entire scheme of selection

and impair the rights of other candidates in waiting. A consequence which

ought to be avoided.

16. In this circumstances, this Court is inclined to set aside the order of

the learned Single Judge and Writ Appeal stands allowed. If there is any

avenue possible for the petitioner to stake claim at this stage in terms of

prospectus it is open to the petitioner to avail of the same, which shall be

considered by the concerned respondent in accordance with the prospectus

and the notification / communication issued pursuant thereto. Consequently,

the connected miscellaneous petitions, if any, are closed. No costs.

(S.M.SUBRAMANIAM J.) (MOHAMMED SHAFFIQ J.) 14-11-2025

gd/spp Index:Yes/No Speaking/Non-speaking order Internet:Yes Neutral Citation:Yes/No

6. (2022) SCC 729; (2023) 2 SCC 322

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1.Shilpa Suresh S, D/o. K.Suresh, Aalikkanvilai Veedu, Anucodu, Kollemcodu PO, Kollangodu Kanyakumari -629 160.

2.The Dean, Madha Medical College and Research Institute , Kundrathur Main Rd, Kovur (Near Porur), Chennai -600 128.

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S.M.SUBRAMANIAM J.

AND MOHAMMED SHAFFIQ J.

gd/spp

W.A. NO.3489 OF 2025

14.11.2025