- 1 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:12822-DB WA No. 683 of 2026 IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 3RD DAY OF MARCH, 2026 PRESENT THE HON'BLE MR. VIBHU BAKHRU, CHIEF JUSTICE AND THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE C.M. POONACHA WRIT APPEAL NO. 683 OF 2026 (EDN-RES) BETWEEN: 1. KARAVALI AYURVEDIC MEDICAL COLLEGE HOSPITAL AND RESEARCH CENTRE NEERMARGA MANGALORE-575029 REPRESENTED BY ITS NOW CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER SRI ANIL KUMAR G 2. HARSHAL PADMAKUMAR PATIL S/O PADMAKAR DAGADU PATIL AGED ABOUT 18 YEARS R/AT POST DIGASHI, TAL BHIWANDI, DIST THANE-421302 MAHARASHTRA 3. SUMIT SUNIL THAKRE S/O SUNIL DAMODAR THAKARE AGED ABOUT 18 YEARS NO.B/304, GAURI PRASAD CHS, PARSIK NAGAR KHAREGAON, KALWA THANE, MAHARASHTRA-400605 Digitally signed by NIRMALA DEVI Location: HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA - 2 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:12822-DB WA No. 683 of 2026 4. DIVYANI RAJENDRA KHOND D/O RAJENDRA KHOND AGED ABOUT 19 YEARS R/AT ALLIPUR TAHASIL HINGANGHAT WARDHA DISTRICT MAHARASHTRA-442302 5. DISHA PANDIT JADHAV D/O PANDIT BALIRAM JADHAV AGED ABOUT 18 YEARS R/AT SHANTI NIWAS, MAHESH NAGAR, NEAR TO MONORA CHAUK DIGRAS YAVATMAL DISTRICT MAHARASHTRA-445203 6. SUMAIYA D/O A FAYAZ AGED ABOUT 18 YEARS R/AT NO.09, P AND T LAYOUT 2ND STAGE, 2ND PHASE, RAJIVNAGAR RING ROAD MYSORE-570019 …APPELLANTS (BY SRI. UDAYA PRAKASH M, ADVOCATE) AND: RAJIV GANDHI UNIVERSITY OF HEALTH SCIENCES 4TH T BLOCK, JAYANAGAR BANGALORE-560041 REPRESENTED BY ITS REGISTRAR …RESPONDENT THIS WRIT APPEAL IS FILED U/S 4 OF THE KARNATAKA HIGH COURT ACT PRAYING TO ALLOW THE APPEAL, SETTING ASIDE THE ORDER DATED 21/07/2023 PASSED IN WP NO.4780/2023 AND ETC. - 3 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:12822-DB WA No. 683 of 2026 THIS APPEAL, COMING ON FOR PRELIMINARY HEARING, THIS DAY, JUDGMENT WAS DELIVERED THEREIN AS UNDER: CORAM: HON'BLE MR. VIBHU BAKHRU, CHIEF JUSTICE and HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE C.M. POONACHA ORAL JUDGMENT (PER: HON'BLE MR. VIBHU BAKHRU, CHIEF JUSTICE) 1. Appellant No.1, a Medical College that imparts medical education, has filed the present appeal impugning an order dated 21.07.2023 passed by the learned Single Judge in Writ Petition No.4780 of 2023 (EDN-RES). Appellant Nos.2 to 6 are students pursuing their BAMS course with appellant No.1. 2. There was an issue uploading the students' admission documents to the respondent university's portal, including those of appellant Nos. 2 to 6. As a result of the failure to upload the documents, the respondent University, with which Appellant No.1 College is affiliated, had not approved the admission of various students including appellant Nos.2 to 6. In the said facts, the appellants filed a writ petition, being WP No.3668 of 2022, which was allowed by an order dated 24.05.2022. In terms of the said order, the respondent University was directed to approve the - 4 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:12822-DB WA No. 683 of 2026 admission for the academic year 2020-21 upon the appellants, making a payment of `5,000/- each. 3. It is material to note that there was no issue regarding the students' eligibility in the said batch of petitions on account of their academic qualifications. It is stated that pursuant to the said order, appellants Nos.2 to 6 have continued their education with appellant No.1 college. 4. The University has not released the examination application forms to appellant Nos.2 to 6 on the grounds that they are ineligible to undertake the course for which they were admitted. Admittedly, none of the said appellants had secured the minimum marks in the pre-qualifying examination to be eligible for admission to the courses. 5. Regulation 2(d)(i) and (ii) of Indian Medicine Central Council (Minimum Standards of Education in Indian Medicine) Amendment Regulations, 2018 reads as under: (d) (i) There shall be uniform entrance examination for all medical institutions at the under-graduate level, namely the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to under-graduate course in each academic year - 5 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:12822-DB WA No. 683 of 2026 and shall be conducted by an authority designated by the Central Government. (ii) In order to be eligible for admission to under- graduate course for an academic year, it shall be necessary for a candidate to obtain minimum of marks at 50th percentile in the 'National Eligibility Entrance Test for under-graduate course' held for the said academic year: 6. Admittedly, since appellant Nos.2 to 6 have not secured the more than 40th percentile marks in the National Eligibility Entrance Test for undergraduate courses held for the relevant academic year, they were not eligible to undertake the said course. 7. The learned counsel appearing for the appellants does not dispute that appellants Nos.2 to 6 are ineligible to undertake the course for which they are admitted. Concededly, they could not have been admitted to the BAMS Course. He also submits that since appellant Nos.2 to 6 have already undertaken the said course, a lenient view may be taken. 8. It is relevant to note that the learned Single Judge had permitted appellants Nos.2 to 6 by an interim order to take the examinations held on 14.03.2023. However, the court had also clarified that no equities would be claimed. - 6 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:12822-DB WA No. 683 of 2026 9. In this view, the contention that a lenient view ought to be taken on account of appellant Nos.2 to 6 undergoing the course is unpersuasive. Clearly, it is not a matter of whether a lenient or a strict view is required. The question is whether Appellants Nos.2 to 6 are ineligible for admission to the course. There is no scope for exercising any discretion to permit the appellant students to sit for the examination. 10. We find no fault with the respondent University in declining to withhold the qualifications. We find no grounds to interfere with the decision of the learned Single Judge in the impugned order. The appeal is without merit and is accordingly dismissed. 11. All pending applications are also disposed of. Sd/- (VIBHU BAKHRU) CHIEF JUSTICE Sd/- (C.M. POONACHA) JUDGE Vmb List No.: 2 Sl No.: 19