Students who are otherwise qualified for admission and have successfully completed their professional medical course cannot be denied registration for alleged procedural irregularities during the admission counselling process, particularly when the issues have become academic.

THIS WRIT APPEAL FILED UNDER SECTION 4 OF THE KARNATAKA HIGH COURT ACT, 1961 R/W RULE 28 OF THE Writ Proceeding Rules, 1977 PRAYING TO ALLOW THE APPEAL BY SETTING ASIDE THE IMPUGNED ORDER DATED 27.10.2025, IN W.P. No.28861/2025.

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. The National Council of Homeopathy has filed the present appeal impugning the order dated 27.10.2025 passed by the learned Single Judge of this Court in WP.No.28861/2025 [impugned order]. In terms of the impugned order, the learned Single Judge directed the appellant to issue the MQRL (Medical Qualification Registration List) and Registration Certifications in favour of the respondent Nos.1 to 30 (writ petitioners) immediately upon receipt of a copy of the said order.

2. The writ petitioners had appeared for the NEET (UG) – 2018 Entrance Examination, conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education. They were found eligible for admission to Medical, Dental and AYUSH courses. The Karnataka Examinations Authority [KEA], arrayed as respondent No.32 in the present appeal, conducted the counselling process for filling the seats in AYUSH courses. However, the writ petitioners were not registered with KEA and did not participate in the counselling process. After the final round, it was found that KEA was unable to fill the Management Quota Seats in private AYUSH Medical Colleges for the undergraduate programmes.

3. It is stated that, since the Management Quota Seats in private AYUSH medical colleges remained unfilled, the colleges invited eligible students to apply for the Management Quota to fill the vacant seats. The writ petitioners approached the College (respondent No. 34) directly and secured admission to the first-year BHMS Course under the Management Seat Quota.

4. The Ministry of AYUSH had made NEET(UG) qualification mandatory for admission to AYUSH courses. Aggrieved by the said stipulation, the Karnataka State AYUSH Medical College Federation, along with several other AYUSH colleges, filed a writ petition, WP No.41486/2018 (EDN-MED-ADM), challenging the communication dated 26.04.2017 issued by the Ministry of AYUSH. In the said writ petition, this Court passed an interim order dated 11.10.2018 permitting the colleges to admit non-NEET candidates under the Management Quota, subject to the final outcome of the writ petitions.

5. The said writ petition [WP.No.41486/2018 (EDN-MED-ADM)] was disposed of in view of the judgment of the Supreme Court in Union of India v. Federation of Self-Financed Ayurvedic Colleges, Punjab and others ¹Civil Appeal No.603/2020 decided on 20.02.2020..

6. The writ petitioners have successfully completed the final BHMS examinations and the Karnataka Board of Homeopathic System of Medicine (respondent No.36) has issued Provisional Registration Certificates to the writ petitioners. After the successful completion of the internship, Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, with which respondent No.34 – College is affiliated, issued the Provisional Degree Certificates to the writ petitioners.

7. After obtaining the Degree Certificate, the writ petitioners applied for MQRL registration through the AYUSH NCH BISAG Portal. This Registration Certificate is essential for the writ petitioners to practice as Homeopathic doctors and to seek admission to postgraduate courses. The appellant did not issue the MQRL Registration. Consequently, the writ petitioners approached respondent No. 34 College to