PANAJI
The High Court of Bombay at Goa has quashed the Goa government’s decision to introduce a sports quota in MBBS and BDS admissions midway through the admission process.
A Division Bench of Justice Bharati Dangre and Justice Nivedita Mehta held that the common admission prospectus for 2025–26 carries the force of law and is binding on both the authorities and candidates.
“The admission process shall be governed by the prospectus and timelines therein. The brochure cannot be altered at a subsequent stage, particularly once the process of admission has begun,” the Bench observed while delivering judgment on a petition filed by NEET candidate Akshay Srivastava.
The petitioner had challenged a notice dated August 1, 2025, issued by the Directorate of Technical Education (DTE), inviting applications from meritorious sportspersons to fill seats under the Children of Freedom Fighters (CFF) category.
Srivastava pointed out that the prospectus required unfilled reserved seats, including those for Freedom Fighters, to be de-reserved and transferred to the General Category. He argued that introducing a fresh quota after the first round of counselling on August 5 violated this rule and defeated his legitimate expectation of securing a BDS seat on merit.
Defending the move, Advocate General Devidas Pangam said the State was empowered under Article 162 and the Goa Sports Policy, 2009, to create such a quota, which had been under consideration for a long time.
“Without amending the prospectus or notifying modifications therein, inviting applications under a new category after commencement of counselling amounts to changing the rules of the game after it has begun,” the Bench held, while clarifying that although the State may frame policies to encourage sports, such reservations must be incorporated in the prospectus before admissions begin.
The court also noted that introducing the quota after publication of the merit list and during ongoing counselling “adversely impacts the fairness and transparency of the admission process.”
