Case Summary: MADRAS HIGH COURT

 Case Summary: MADRAS HIGH COURT 

Case Title: Olincy Helena vs The National Testing Agency

Case Number: W.P.(MD)No.17893 of 2024

Date of Judgment: 1 August 2024

Judge: Honourable Mr. Justice G.R. Swaminathan

Background:

The petitioner, Olincy Helena, represented by her mother, O. Beatus Princy, filed a writ petition seeking a directive from the court to change her community status from General Category (OC) to Other Backward Class (OBC) in her NEET (UG) 2024 application. She had mistakenly declared herself as belonging to the OC category instead of OBC, which resulted in her not qualifying for a medical seat as her score was below the OC cut-off but above the OBC cut-off.

Reason for Denial of Relief:

The court refused to grant relief for the following reasons:

1. Error on the Part of the Petitioner: The petitioner had the opportunity to correct her community status in her application both before and after the examination, but she failed to do so.

2. Legal Precedent: The court referenced a previous ruling (W.A.(MD)No.739 of 2019) which established that requests to change communal category after the declaration of results are not permissible as they could affect the All India merit ranking list.

3. Inability to Contradict Established Judgments: The court reiterated that it could not depart from the earlier judgments, where similar petitions were dismissed due to the inability of the petitioner to rectify their status within the given opportunities.

4. Sympathetic Dismissal: The court, while expressing sympathy, noted that the petitioner could not seek a declaration that contradicted the Information Bulletin's guidelines, which clearly stated that such changes could not be made after the declaration of results.

Conclusion:

The writ petition was dismissed, and no costs were awarded. The court, however, encouraged the petitioner to reapply in the next academic year, ensuring careful reading of the prospectus and guidelines before submitting the application.