Migrant OBC Candidates Cannot Be Denied Chandigarh MBBS Reserved Seats on a Condition Absent from the Admission Prospectus After Admissions Begin: Punjab and Haryana High Court

Case Name: Nitin Yadav (Minor) v. Union Territory, Chandigarh and Others

Date of Judgment: 21 September 2026.

Citation: CWP-27180-2026

Bench: Justice Suvir Sehgal and Justice Rajesh Gaur.

Held: For MBBS admissions under the Chandigarh UT Pool for 2026–27, an otherwise eligible OBC (NCL) candidate could not be shifted to the General Category merely because a Chandigarh-issued OBC certificate described the candidate as a “migrant”. Clauses A-3 and A-7 of the prospectus imposed no bar on such certificates and did not restrict OBC reservation to candidates of Chandigarh origin. Reading the Government of India’s 1994 instructions into the prospectus after applications had been made would introduce a new eligibility condition during the admission process.

Summary: The petitioner challenged a revised provisional merit list that treated him as ineligible for an OBC (NCL) seat in the Chandigarh UT Pool because his OBC certificate carried the description “migrant”. The Chandigarh Administration argued that OBC status is territorial and relied on Government of India instructions concerning migration between States and Union Territories. The Court examined the admission prospectus and found that it required eligible UT Pool candidates to submit an OBC certificate issued by the designated Chandigarh authority, but did not make Chandigarh ancestry or the absence of a “migrant” notation a condition of reservation. The Court held that the administration could not add that condition after the admission process had begun. It confined its ruling to the 2026–27 prospectus and left open the possibility of a legally valid criterion being prescribed for a future academic session.

Decision: The Court disposed of all writ petitions and quashed the revised provisional merit list dated 20 August 2026 insofar as the petitioner’s category was concerned. It directed the authorities to prepare a fresh OBC (NCL) merit list for the remaining Chandigarh UT Pool MBBS seats, applying the prospectus conditions and NEET (UG) 2026 merit. Admissions of candidates who had already joined were not to be disturbed.