The Karnataka High Court, Dharwad Bench, has rejected a NEET-UG 2026 candidate’s plea to claim OBC reservation within the NRI quota in MBBS/BDS counselling, holding that the NRI quota is a separate, unreserved 15% quota under the counselling scheme and that a candidate can opt for only one type of reservation.
Dharwad: The Karnataka High Court, Dharwad Bench, has rejected the writ petition of a NEET-UG 2026 candidate who wanted to claim her OBC (Non-Creamy Layer) status within the NRI (Sponsored) quota in the MBBS/BDS/B.Sc. Nursing counselling, holding that the NRI quota is a separate quota with no reservation within it [Juhi Katwa v. Union of India and Others].
A Division Bench of Justice M. Nagaprasanna and Justice Hema Kulkarni passed the order on September 9, 2026 in W.P. No. 107372 of 2026, at the preliminary hearing. The petition had been mentioned for urgent hearing because the counselling was to end that day.
The petition
The petitioner, an 18-year-old student, sought a declaration that her OBC (Non-Creamy Layer)/2A category status remains available for all seats in the counselling, even though she applied as an NRI (Sponsored) candidate, and a modification of the notice of May 27, 2026 so that it does not apply to candidates who have completed 18 years. She also sought permission to take part in the remaining rounds under the NRI (Sponsored) category on the strength of sponsorship by her paternal aunt, treating her application of August 10, 2026 for the NRI option as valid despite a later re-filing which, she said, was done under compulsion. The respondents were the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the Medical Counselling Committee, the National Testing Agency, the National Medical Commission and the Karnataka Examinations Authority.
Her counsel, Advocate Deepak C. Maganur, submitted that she has an NRI sponsor and was claiming an MBBS/BDS seat in the NRI quota, but had been placed in the General category although she belongs to the OBC category. The petitioner’s case was that if she could not avail the OBC reservation within the NRI quota, she would be denied a seat.
The respondents’ position
Advocate Mrutyunjay S. Hallikeri, for the Union, the Medical Counselling Committee and the National Testing Agency, submitted that the petitioner did not even have the basic percentage to be considered under the NRI quota, as she had secured only 48.33%. Advocate Anoop Deshpande appeared for the National Medical Commission and Advocate Surabhi Kulkarni for the Karnataka Examinations Authority.
The Court’s reasoning
The Bench said the petitioner’s submission, that the NRI quota should carry a reservation for OBC or any other category so that she cannot be placed in the General category, was noted only to be rejected. It held that the NRI quota is a separate quota, with 15% of the seats reserved for NRIs, and that the brochure notified in terms of law makes clear that an NRI can be only in the unreserved category.
It relied on Question No. 36 of the NEET-UG (MBBS/BDS/B.Sc. Nursing) Counselling 2026 Information Bulletin and Counselling Scheme. The answer states that NRI, OCI and PIO candidates will be shown seats reserved for the NRI category and General seats of the All India Quota and deemed universities, and that one candidate can opt for only one type of reservation.
The Bench held that the petitioner was asking the Court to interpret the scheme so that SC, ST, OBC or other reservation applies to an NRI applicant, so that she could get in under an NRI-OBC category. It found this submission without countenance, because she had not crossed the threshold marks required under the NRI quota, which is unreserved, and because she could not ask the Court to read reservation into the NRI quota so that she could enter the counselling.
The order
Finding no merit in the petition, the Bench rejected it. A coordinate Bench had earlier, on September 1, 2026, taken note of the respondents’ counsel appearing and directed the petitioner’s counsel to serve the papers.
Why it matters
The order confirms that, under the NEET-UG counselling scheme, a candidate who opts for the NRI quota competes in the unreserved category for those seats, and cannot combine it with OBC or other reservation. It also treats the FAQ in the counselling bulletin as part of the scheme that the Court will apply.
The Court decided the plea on the terms of the counselling scheme and the minimum marks for the NRI quota, as recorded in the order. The marks figure was the Union’s counsel’s submission, and the petitioner’s OBC status was not disputed in this order.
Case Title: Juhi Katwa v. Union of India and Others [W.P. No. 107372 of 2026 (EDN-RES)]
Bench: Justice M. Nagaprasanna and Justice Hema Kulkarni, Karnataka High Court, Dharwad Bench
Date of Order: September 9, 2026
Appearances: Advocate Deepak C. Maganur appeared for the petitioner. Advocate Mrutyunjay S. Hallikeri appeared for respondents 1 to 3, Advocate Anoop Deshpande for respondent 4, and Advocate Surabhi Kulkarni for respondent 5.