Give provisional admission to Pak. immigrant, says High Court

He had scored 80% in NEET (UG), but his visa is pending

The Rajasthan High Court on Tuesday asked the National Testing Agency to allot a seat in an appropriate medical college to a Pakistani immigrant who has cleared National Eligibilities-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) but was denied admission for want of a Long Term Visa from the country of his origin.

Justice Dinesh Mehta of the Jodhpur Bench of the High Court asked the NTA on a plea by Pakistani immigrant Sandeep Kumar.

Mr. Kumar had moved the High Court saying he was denied a seat in a medical college despite securing 80% marks in NEET because his LTV has expired and was awaiting renewal by Pakistan for long.

While asking the NTA to admit Mr. Kumar to a medical college, the Bench ruled that the validity of his admission will depend on the outcome of his petition.

Mr. Kumar had submitted that he was a Pakistani national and had come to India with his parents and siblings in 2011 through a valid passport under the LTV. He submitted to the court that his visa had expired in October 2017 and a request to extend his visa has been pending since then.

During the previous hearing in August last year, Mr. Kumar had expressed his desire before the court to appear in the NEET exam but was apprehensive that his application may be rejected for want of LTV.

The court had then asked the NTA Director and the Convener, the Rajasthan NEET-UG Admission Board, Jaipur, to accept his examination form.

In its hearing on Tuesday, the court also gave Additional Solicitor General Mukesh Rajpurohit four weeks to submit his reply.