NEW DELHI: Septuagenarian Ashok Bahara, the oldest candidate in the May 3 National Eligibility cum Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) 2026 exam and its June 21 re-exam, has now filed a court petition seeking one percent reservation for eligible senior citizens in medical colleges. The petitioner wants the Centre to effect a policy decision at the earliest on the matter.
The petition was filed in the Lucknow High Court on Monday (July 13). The first hearing is likely to be held this Friday (July 15) or next Monday (July 18).
The petition states that since the representations submitted by Bahar on May 5 and June 26 to the Centre with a similar request has not received any positive outcome, he has decided to take the legal route to achieve his objective. The action by the Centre is “arbitrary, unreasonable and violative of the principles of fair administration,” states the petition.
The Union government (through the Secretary in the Ministry of Education) has been listed as the respondent. The prayer by the petitioner urges the court to issue, “A writ, order or direction in the nature of Mandamus commanding the opposite parties to consider and take an appropriate policy decision on the representation submitted by the petitioner regarding providing the reservation/special quota for eligible senior citizens in admissions to MBBS and other medical courses through NEET, in accordance with law and within a stipulated period fixed by the Honourable Court in the interest of justice.”
Persons with Disabilities, Freedom fighters, ex-servicemen and sportspersons are offered reservations or special benefits but senior citizens do not have any such benefits, Bahar’s petition stated.
When asked if demanding reservation in medical colleges by a senior citizen felt a bid odd, his advocate Pankaj Dheer Singh Rana told the TNIE, “The Supreme Court had a few years ago removed the age ceiling for the NEET-UG exam. The Court feels senior citizens are eligible to opt for a medical education if they desire. When the top court in the country feels they have the right to a medical seat, then the senior citizens need to be given the reservation too".
On the chances of the court giving a verdict in favour of such a reservation, Rana said, “It has a very good chance of being accepted. The first hearing is anyway scheduled shortly.”
The National Medical Council had on March 9, 2022, announced that there would be no age ceiling for the NEET UG exam. The Supreme Court had in November 2018 granted provisional permission to candidates above 25 years to take up the exam and had asked the NMC to make its stand clear on the matter.
In an earlier interaction with the TNIE, Bahara said that he was taking up the medical entrance exam to fulfill the last wish of his mother, Saivthri Devi, who passed away in 1990. He also expressed a desire to serve inmates of the `Divya Prem ashram 'he was building in his village Gehru in Lucknow after acquiring medical knowledge. His wife is a gynaecologist and his family circle has 20 doctors.