Tamil Nadu Moves Supreme Court Over Withheld Anti-NEET Bill

The Tamil Nadu government has filed a petition before the Supreme Court challenging the decision to withhold presidential assent for its bill seeking exemption from the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for undergraduate medical admissions.
The state has described the move as constitutionally flawed and legally unsustainable, urging the apex court to intervene.

The disputed legislation, The Tamil Nadu Admission to Undergraduate Medical Degree Courses Bill, 2021, aims to restore the pre-NEET system in which admissions were determined based on Class 12 board examination marks. The bill was passed by the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly with overwhelming support.

According to official communication from the Ministry of Home Affairs, the President declined to approve the bill. The information was relayed to the state government through the Governor, marking the closure of the legislative process at the executive level.

Tamil Nadu’s Position on NEET

The state has consistently argued that NEET disadvantages students from rural, economically weaker, and government-school backgrounds. Tamil Nadu maintains that the common entrance test has widened social inequities in access to medical education.

What Tamil Nadu Seeks from the Supreme Court

In its petition, the state requests the Supreme Court to:

• Declare the withholding of assent as unconstitutional

• Allow the bill to be reconsidered on its legislative merits

• Uphold the principles of federalism and state autonomy in education policy

The plea asserts that the decision ignores evidence-based findings presented by the state regarding NEET’s adverse impact and undermines the democratic mandate of the state legislature.

The matter is expected to be taken up by the Supreme Court in the coming days, marking a new phase in the long-standing debate over NEET and state-level control over medical admissions.