$~145 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI # CNR No. DLHC010192422026 + W.P.(C) 11954/2026 & CM APPL. 55412/2026 ATHULYA P THILAK .....Petitioner Through: Mr. Shyam D Nandan, Ms. Nandana Menon, Mr. Rohit Bohra, Mr. Siddharth Bambha, Advs. versus MEDICAL COUNSELLING COMMITTEE & ANR. .....Respondents Through: Ms. Laavanya Kaushik, GP CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE JASMEET SINGH O R D E R % 18.08.2026 1. This is a writ petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking the following prayers:- “I. Issue an appropriate writ / order / in the nature of certiorari directing quashing the notification bearing no. Ref.U-11011/07/2025-MEC dated 27.05.2026 to the extent that it requires the Petitioner to provide a court order under the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 to prove legal guardianship of her sponsor/ guardian; and II. Issue an appropriate Writ in the nature of Mandamus directing the Respondent to consider the eligibility of the Petitioner for counselling in NEET UG 2026 on the basis of the documents already filed/ uploaded by her on the MCC Portal.; and…” This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 21/08/2026 at 12:03:24 2. For the reasons stated in the petition, issue notice. 3. Ms. Kaushik, learned counsel accepts notice on behalf of the respondent No. 1 and has addressed arguments. 4. The petitioner is an 18 years old student, who has qualified National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test Under Graduate (NEET UG), 2026, having secured 70.055 percentile and seeks admission into medical (allied) courses by availing the 15% Non-Resident Indian (“NRI”) quota. 5. She has been taken as a ward by her paternal aunt, who is an Overseas Citizen of India (“OCI”) /NRI settled in the United States of America. Her paternal aunt had undertaken to finance the education requirements of the petitioner. 6. On 27.05.2026, the respondent No. 1/ MCC issued the impugned notification, pursuant to which documents of the petitioner filed for seeking the NRI quota were rejected. 7. The MCC, on 01.08.2026 issued the NEET UG (MBBS/BDS/B.Sc. Nursing) Counselling MCC-UG 2026 Information Bulletin and Counselling Scheme (“Information Bulletin”) which referred to the impugned Notification bearing Ref. No. U-11011/07/2025-MEC dated 27.05.2026. 8. The Information Bulletin prescribes additional eligibility criteria, mandatorily requiring a Non-Resident External (“NRE”) passbook and an order under Section 12 of the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890, for candidates seeking admission under the NRI quota where the candidate is sponsored by a legal guardian. 9. Ms. Kaushik, learned counsel, states that since today the petitioner This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 21/08/2026 at 12:03:24 has attained the age of 18 years, the petitioner will not be required to produce an order under Section 12 of the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890. As regards the requirement of the NRE passbook, she states that it is a requirement only to ensure that the sponsor of the petitioner is able to meet the financial requirements of the petitioner. 10. Mr. Nandan, learned counsel for the petitioner, states that the sponsor of the petitioner has already applied for the same and, since it is a newly introduced requirement, the process is taking longer than usual. He further assures that the needful shall be done within a period of one week and, at the latest, within 10 days from today. 11. The requirement of the NRE passbook is only procedural in nature, and in any case, the petitioner is in a position to furnish the same. 12. In this view of the matter, I am inclined to allow the petition, subject to the condition that the petitioner shall submit the NRE passbook within 10 days from today. The petitioner is also directed to give an affidavit to the respondents undertaking the same. 13. Subject to the aforesaid directions, the petitioner shall be physically permitted to submit her documents before respondent No. 1 and participate in the counselling process. 14. With these directions, the petition is disposed of. JASMEET SINGH, J AUGUST 18, 2026/sp This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 21/08/2026 at 12:03:24