JUDGMENT :

AMITABH KUMAR RAI, J.

1. Heard Shri Amrendra Nath Tripathi, learned Senior Advocate assisted by Shri Harsh Vardhan Kedia, learned counsel for the petitioners, Shri Anuj Kudesia, learned Senior Advocate assisted by Sri Prakhar Mishra, learned Standing Counsel for the State- respondents; Shri S. M. Haider Rizvi, learned counsel for respondent nos.2 and 3 and Shri Gyanendra Kumar Srivastava, learned counsel for respondent no.4.

2. The petitioners in the present writ petition are students who appeared in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (UG) 2026 ("NEET-UG 2026") conducted by the National Testing Agency on 21.06.2026 and secured high ranks in the General Category as well as the EWS Category. It is submitted that the petitioners are desirous of obtaining admission to the MBBS course through the State counselling process and are eligible to compete for seats available in the Open Merit/Unreserved Category on the strength of their merit.

3. The grievance raised by the petitioners in the present writ petition pertains to the Government Order dated 01.09.2026 passed by the State of Uttar Pradesh, whereby, in respect of the four medical institutions situated at Ambedkar Nagar, Kannauj, Jalaun and Saharanpur, special reservation has been prescribed for the said colleges. Out of 85 seats in each of the aforesaid four institutions, 62 seats have been reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates, 5 seats for Scheduled Tribe candidates, 11 seats for Other Backward Classes candidates, and only 7 seats have been kept for Unreserved candidates. It was submitted that by means of the impugned order not only has the orders passed by this Court being violated with impunity, but the statutory prescription of the percentage of the reservation as provided for in the U.P. Admission to Educational Institutions (Reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes) Act, 2006(hereinafter referred to as 'the Act of 2006') has been breached, and accordingly the order on the face of it, is illegal, arbitrary and suffers from the vice of malice.

4. In the impugned Government Order, due cognizance has been taken of the judgment passed by the learned Single Judge in Writ-C No. 7820 of 2025, Sabra Ahmad v. State of U.P. and Others, dated 25.08.2025, as well as the order dated 04.09.2025 passed by the Division Bench of this Court in Special Appeal No. 295 of 2025, State of U.P. and Another v. Sabra Ahmad. Unfortunately, instead of complying with the directions of this court, as well blatantly ignoring the undertaking given The State has yet again decided not to follow the statutory prescription of reservation and continued with the enhanced reservation of more than 60% in favour of schedule caste candidates.

5. It is submitted that the issue pertaining to the excessive/inflated reservation made in favour of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe candidates in respect of the Government Medical Colleges at Ambedkar Nagar, Kannauj, Jalaun and Saharanpur was the subject matter of consideration in Writ-C No. 7820 of 2025.

6. The said judgment was rendered in the context of NEET-UG 2025, wherein a similar reservation had been prescribed by the State of Uttar Pradesh for the academic session 2025–26. In that case also, the reservation in favour of Scheduled Caste candidates had exceeded 79%. And it was urged on behalf of the petitioners therein that such reservation was violative of the Act, 2006, under which maximum of 21% reservation can be made in favour of Scheduled Caste candidates. It was further urged that the reservation was also violative of the ceiling of 50% prescribed for total reservation.

7. This Court considered the arguments advanced by the petitioners as well as the stand taken by the State Government. On behalf of the State Government, it was urged that the aforesaid four State Medical Colleges had been constituted under a Special Component Plan, the principal object whereof was to provide special upliftment and promote th