WP Nos.26715 and 26721 of 2026 __________ Page1 of 18 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS DATED: 16-07-2026 CORAM THE HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE MOHAMMED SHAFFIQ WP Nos.26715 and 26721 of 2026 and WMP Nos.29215, 29217, 29225, 29228, 29231 and 29237 of 2026 Minor.Nithin Navadeep Saravan Kumar (17 years) Rep. by his natural guardian/Father saravana kumar A, No.5/135, gandhi nagar main road, poonthottam, virupakshipuram, thorapadi post, vellore - 632002. ..Petitioner(s) Vs 1. The Government of Tamil Nadu Rep. by its Secretary, Higher Education Department, Government of Tamilnadu, Fort St.George, Chennai – 600009. 2. The Director of Technical Education, Directorate of Technical Education, Guindy, Chennai - 600025. 3. The Secretary Tamilnadu Engineering Admissions (TNEA)-2026, Anna University, Chennai - 600025. 4. The Member Secretary, Sports Development Authority of Tamilnadu, Jawaharlal nehru stadium campus, periamet, Chennai - 600003. ..Respondent(s) WP No. 26721 of 2026 Minor V.Sujan Pranav (Aged 17 years) Rep. by his natural guardian/Mother S.Geetha, No.22-1/5, sakthi nagar, gandhi gramam south, https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis WP Nos.26715 and 26721 of 2026 __________ Page2 of 18 karur - 639004. ..Petitioner(s) Vs 1. The Government Of Tamil Nadu Rep. by its Secretary, Higher Education Department, Government of Tamilnadu, Fort St.George, Chennai – 600009. 2. The Director of Technical Education, Directorate of Technical Education, Guindy, Chennai - 600025. 3. The Secretary Tamilnadu Engineering Admissions (TNEA)-2026, Anna University, Chennai - 600025. 4. The Member Secretary, Sports Development Authority of Tamilnadu, Jawaharlal nehru stadium campus, periamet, Chennai - 600003. ..Respondent(s) PRAYER in W.P.No.26715 of 2026: Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying for a writ of Certiorarified Mandamus calling for the entire records relating to the provisional rank list for the category of the eminent sports person for tamilnadu engineering admissions (TNEA)-2026 published in the web site by the 2nd and 3rd respondent in so far as awarding only 570 sports-marks for the petitioner and ranking the petitioner at Sl.No.23 and quash the same and consequently direct the 2nd and 3rd respondents to re- evaluate the same and award 890 sports marks to the petitioner and rank him accordingly in accordance with the provisions under the category I(B) of Annexure III to the TNEA - 2026 prospectus. PRAYER in W.P.No.26721 of 2026: Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying for a writ of Certiorarified Mandamus calling for the entire records relating to the provisional rank list for the category of the eminent sports person for tamilnadu engineering admissions (TNEA)-2026 https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis WP Nos.26715 and 26721 of 2026 __________ Page3 of 18 published in the web site by the 2nd and 3rd respondent in so far as awarding only 265 sports-marks for the petitioner and ranking the petitioner at Sl.No.239 and quash the same and consequently direct the 2nd and 3rd respondents to re- evaluate the same and award 465 sports marks to the petitioner and rank him accordingly in accordance with the provisions under the category I(B) of Annexure III to the TNEA - 2026 prospectus. For Petitioner(s): in both cases Mr.N.Subramaniyan for Mr.N.Santhosh For Respondent(s): in both cases Mr.P.Ilayarajkumar Counsel for Government (for R1 & R2) Mr.U.Baranidharan Standing Counsel (for R3) Ms.Tanvi Standing Counsel (for R4) COMMON ORDER These writ petitions are filed praying for a writ of certiorarified mandamus challenging the provisional rank list for the category of the Eminent Sports Person for Tamilnadu Engineering Admissions (TNEA)-2026 published in the web site by 2nd and 3rd respondent insofar as awarding only 570 and 265 sports-marks respectively for petitioners and ranking the petitioners at Sl.No.23 and 239 respectively and quash the same and consequently direct the 2nd and 3rd respondents to re-evaluate the same and award 890 and 465 sports marks respectively to the petitioners and rank them accordingly in accordance with the provisions under the Category I(B) of Annexure III to the TNEA - 2026 prospectus. https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis WP Nos.26715 and 26721 of 2026 __________ Page4 of 18 2. Learned counsel for petitioners would submit that petitioners had applied for admission to B.E/B.Tech Degree course through Tamil Nadu Engineering Admissions (TNEA), 2026 under the “Eminent Sports Person Category”. Petitioners produced relevant Sports certificate before the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) during certificate verification. Sports Rank list was published wherein petitioner in W.P. No.26715 of 2026 was ranked at Sl.No.23 and petitioner in W.P. No.26721 of 2026 was ranked at Sl.No.239. Petitioners had participated in 2nd Asian Junior Soft Tennis Championship, 2026, held in Punjab in February 2026 and their International Sports Achievements was treated as falling under Category III instead of Category I(B) of Annexure III to TNEA 2026 Prospectus. Resultantly, marks awarded to petitioners fell short by 320 marks and 200 marks respectively. This in turn affected their opportunity to secure admission through Sports Quota in TNEA 2026 to desired/ intended courses. Learned counsel for petitioners would submit that petitioners had submitted representation pointing out the discrepancies in evaluation and sought correction of the Sports marks and Rank, however, the same has not been considered. It is in these circumstance that these writ petitions have been filed. 3. Learned counsel for petitioners would submit that Asian Junior Soft Tennis Championship, is an event which is conducted once in four years, and would submit that petitioners ought to have been awarded 400 marks https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis WP Nos.26715 and 26721 of 2026 __________ Page5 of 18 respondents have instead awarded lesser marks (200 marks) on the premise that Asian Junior Soft Tennis Championship is not an event which is organised in an interval of four years inasmuch as there is no material to indicate the interval at which the event was to be conducted. 4. Petitioner would submit that First Asian Junior Soft Tennis Championship was conducted sometime in the year 2019 at Philippines and second event was intended to be conducted in the year 2023. However, due to COVID-19 pandemic, was postponed. Thereafter was conducted in 2026, 3rd Edition of the event is now proposed to be conducted in the year 2028 at Thailand. While learned counsel for petitioners would submit that petitioners being Eminent Sports Person ought to be awarded 400 marks treating the Asian Junior Soft Tennis Championship as falling under Category I B of the Prospectus. Denial of petitioners’ claim for being awarded 400 marks despite having produced certificates issued by the Amateur Soft Tennis Federation of India (Reg), which is recognised by the Ministry of Youth, Affairs and Sports, Government of India and certificate issued by Asian Soft Tennis Federation is unjustified. Photocopies of the aforesaid certificates are scanned and extracted below: https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis WP Nos.26715 and 26721 of 2026 __________ Page6 of 18 I) Certificates of petitioner in W.P.No.26715 of 2026: https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis WP Nos.26715 and 26721 of 2026 __________ Page7 of 18 https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis WP Nos.26715 and 26721 of 2026 __________ Page8 of 18 II) Certificates of petitioner in W.P.No.26721 of 2026: https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis WP Nos.26715 and 26721 of 2026 __________ Page9 of 18 https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis WP Nos.26715 and 26721 of 2026 __________ Page10 of 18 6. Learned counsel for petitioners would submit on the basis of above declarations that petitioners are eligible for being awarded 400 marks. To the contrary, learned counsel for respondents would submit that there is no material to show that Asian Soft Tennis Championship is organised in four years frequency. 7. Question arises as to whether Asian Soft Tennis Championship is an event organised in four years frequency, thus would fall under Category-I-B as claimed by petitioner or under Category III as submitted by the respondents. 8. Before proceeding further, it may be relevant rather necessary to refer to the relevant portions of the prospectus insofar as it fixes the category for International Tournaments. Relevant portion is scanned and extracted: https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis WP Nos.26715 and 26721 of 2026 __________ Page11 of 18 9. Learned counsel for petitioners would submit that Asian Junior Soft Tennis Championship would fall under Category I-B. 10. To the contrary, learned counsel appearing for 4th respondent would place reliance on the TNEA Prospectus, 2026, to submit that petitioners’ claim https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis WP Nos.26715 and 26721 of 2026 __________ Page12 of 18 ought to be treated as falling under Category II of the Guidelines for International Tournaments. 11. Learned counsel for 4th respondent would further submit that petitioners’ claim that Asian Junior Soft Tennis Championship would fall under Category I-B is again unjustified inasmuch as admittedly “Asian Championship” is not included in Category I-B, instead only World Championship, Common Wealth and World Cup organised in 4 years frequency. Further, petitioners cannot be considered under Category II, as it only includes World Championship, World Cup and Asian Championship, South Asian Games, Common Wealth Championship, organised in two years frequency by the International Sports Federation, which is not the case inasmuch as Asian Junior Soft Tennis Championship was conducted in 2019, then 2026 and next Championship is intended to be held in 2028, thus would not fall under Category II. Petitioners were thus awarded marks in Asian Junior Soft Tennis Championship as falling under Category III. The manner in which marks are awarded in all sports disciplines and how the marks were awarded to petitioners was explained in the counter as under: “1. …..awarding of marks in all sports disciplines is as follows: i. The candidates applying under the Eminent Sports Quota are required to submit appropriate Forms of certificate based on the level of https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis WP Nos.26715 and 26721 of 2026 __________ Page13 of 18 sports representation and competition such as Form I (International level), Form II (National Level) and Form III (University/Inter- university Level) produced along with the respective sports certificates. These certificates are issued by the Recognised National Sports Federation, State Sports Association etc. The same is to verify that the winnings /participation of the individual candidate. ii. Once the same is verified, then the timeline of the conduct of such championships will be verified through the event calendar provided in the appropriate websites of the respective national and international federations which conducts such tournaments. Based on the above verification, the marks will appropriately be awarded to the candidates after determining whether such championships was conducted annually/biennially/quadriennally. Name + Total marks Marks awarded Marks claimed by petitioner Reason for rejection Nithin Navdeep (570) Petitioner in W.P.No.26715 of 2026 2nd Asian Junior Championship (2026) – 200 marks (annual event) 400 marks (Based on the declaration of the intent to conduct said event once in 4 years) / 250 marks (once in two years) Periodicity not yet established. Event calendar does not support the declaration given by the Asian Soft Tennis Federation. State Championship (80 marks) 2nd India International Soft Tennis Championship, 2025 (denied) – 200 marks claimed Invitational events not granted marks as per Prospectus. Sujan Pranav (Petitioner in W.P.No.26721 of 2026) 2nd Asian Junior Championship (2026) – 200 marks (annual event) 400 (once in 4 years) / 250 (once in 2 years) Periodicity not yet established. Event calendar does not support claim. 2. Following the above, the petitioners were respectively https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis WP Nos.26715 and 26721 of 2026 __________ Page14 of 18 awarded marks for their certificates. It is submitted that with regard to the 2nd Asian Junior Soft Tennis Championship, the petitioners and other participants were awarded 200 marks for the event. The Petitioners are seeking award of 400 (quadrennial)/250 (biennial) marks by treating this event as either a quadrennial event or as a biennial event. 3. Both of these requests were denied by SDAT since the event calendar published by Asian Soft Tennis Federation and the Amateur Soft Tennis Federation of India both demonstrate that this event has never been conducted in a 4 year/2 year periodicity. The Asian Soft Tennis Federation's event calendars clearly indicate when an event was cancelled and conducted on a later date. However, with regard to this event, there is no mention. Therefore, the declaration of the Asian Soft Tennis Federation that they had intended to conduct this event in 2023 but cancelled it and they intend to conduct this event in 2028 once again cannot be acted upon for grant of marks” 12. It is submitted that respondents visited the website of the Asian Soft Tennis Federation and the International Calendar hosted in the website does not show that Asian Junior Soft Tennis Championship was being conducted once in four years. It is further submitted that once the calendar does not reflect the same, mere fact that the event was “intended” to be organised once in four years may not satisfy the requirement of Category I-B or Category II for that matter. It was thus submitted that petitioners were in fact awarded 200 marks for participating in Asian Junior Soft Tennis Championship, 2026, held at Punjab, https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis WP Nos.26715 and 26721 of 2026 __________ Page15 of 18 treating the event as falling under Category III. 13. On the other hand, learned counsel for petitioners would submit that the respondent authorities ought to investigate the genuineness of the certificates by writing to the Federation issuing the certificates and denying the petitioners of higher scores/ marks is unjustified in the absence of any investigation/ enquiry of the certificate issuing authority. 14. Learned counsel for 4th respondent in response would submit that on an average there are about 3000 applications received under Sports Quota and if enquiry is sought to be conducted in respect of every Certificate submitted, it would be time consuming exercise, ranging from a month to almost a year. Such an exercise if mandated, far from assisting the students may prove counter productive rather may put the chance of admission of students under Sports Quota in peril. It is thus submitted that the above exercise would be unworkable rather obnoxious and petitioners’ request to make an enquiry with the Asian Soft Tennis Federation was thus not accceded. She would thus submit that respondents have carried out the necessary/ standard/ routine exercise which is carried out in respect of applications/ certificates received under Sports quota. 15. This Court finds merit in the submission of learned counsel for respondents and thus not inclined to entertain the prayer in this writ petition. https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis WP Nos.26715 and 26721 of 2026 __________ Page16 of 18 Accordingly, the writ petitions are disposed of. No costs. Consequently, the connected miscellaneous petitions are closed. 16-07-2026 Index: Yes/No Speaking/Non-speaking order Neutral Citation: Yes/No MKA To: 1. The Secretary, Higher Education Department, https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis WP Nos.26715 and 26721 of 2026 __________ Page17 of 18 Government of Tamilnadu, Fort St.George, Chennai – 600009. 2. The Director of Technical Education, Directorate of Technical Education, Guindy, Chennai - 600025. 3. The Secretary Tamilnadu Engineering Admissions (TNEA)-2026, Anna University, Chennai - 600025. 4. The Member Secretary, Sports Development Authority of Tamilnadu, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Campus, Periamet, Chennai - 600003. https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis WP Nos.26715 and 26721 of 2026 __________ Page18 of 18 MOHAMMED SHAFFIQ J. MKA WP Nos.26715 and 26721 of 2026 16-07-2026 https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis