FMGE 2026| Not Possible To Comply With All Formalities At Last Minute: Delhi High Court Directs Relaxed Documentation For Duplicate NEET-UG Scorecards
The Court dispensed with police report and stamp paper, and permitted fee payment by NEFT, directing scorecards to be generated within 7 days of application; relief confined to present petitioners.
Justice Jasmeet Singh, Delhi High Court
The Delhi High Court has held that medical graduates preparing for an examination crucial to their careers cannot be expected to comply with all documentary formalities at the last minute. It directed that petitioners who lost their NEET-UG scorecards may obtain duplicates on a reduced set of documents so that they can apply for the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE), 2026.
The Court omitted the police report requirement, dispensed with stamp paper and gazetted-officer attestation, and permitted fee payment by NEFT. NTA must generate the scorecards within seven days of receiving an application. The relief applies only to the present petitioners.
The petitioners were medical graduates who misplaced their NEET-UG scorecards from earlier years and need them to participate in the FMGE proposed for October 31, 2026. Applications were due by 25 September 2026, with deficiencies correctable until October 21, 2026. All petitioners' applications were incomplete for want of the scorecards.
A Bench of Justice Jasmeet Singh observed, “I am of the view that since the petitioners are preparing for their examination which is crucial for their career prospects as doctors, it will not be possible for them to comply with all the aforesaid formalities at the last minute…”.
Advocate Yatharth Rohila appeared for the petitioner and Sanjay Khanna, Standing Counsel appeared for the respondent.
The petitions were heard together and disposed of by a common order. The National Testing Agency moved an application, which the Court took on record, pointing to a public notice and office memorandum dated September 17, 2026 laying down the procedure for duplicate scorecards. Clause 5 of the memorandum required, among other things, a notarised affidavit on stamp paper, a police report and attested photographs.
NTA's counsel stated, on instructions, that clause 5.1(c) entirely, and the gazetted-officer attestation in clause 5.1(d), would not be insisted upon. The Court held that since the petitioners were preparing for an examination crucial to their careers as doctors, it would not be possible for them to comply with all the formalities at the last minute.
The Court directed that petitioners submit a signed application, a self-attested affidavit, photographs, identity documents, a statement on the admit card, proof of fee and a self-attested indemnity, without stamp paper. Applications must reach NTA within seven days and scorecards must follow within seven days thereafter. Petitioners may also write a simple letter of intent to appear on October 31, 2026, which NBEMS must treat as a valid application. All deficiencies must be rectified by 21 October 2026, 11:55 p.m.
From the next examination, the September 17 2026 notification applies in accordance with law. The petitions and pending applications were disposed of.
Cause title: Ayush Kumar & Anr. v. National Testing Agency & Ors. W.P.(C) 11746/2026
Appearances:
Petitioners: Yatharth Rohila, Nihal Singh Shekhawat, Kanak Kaushal, Aniketa Rohila, Mayank Sharma, Abhijit Chakravarty, Mangal Murti, D. K. Devesh and Gopal Mishra, Advocates.
Respondents: Sanjay Khanna , Standing Counsel, Pragya Bhushan, Saurabh Pandey, Harsh Katariya, Meemansa Dixit and Giridharan P for NTA. Advocates Waize Ali Noor, Mrinal Kumar Sharma, Zillur Rahman, Abhinav Jaganathan and Harsh Vikram Singh, Advocates.