Tamil Nadu seeks SC intervention on bill to replace NEET with Class 12 marks

Tamil Nadu has filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the decision of the President of India to withhold assent to the Tamil Nadu Admission to Undergraduate Medical Degree Courses Bill, 2021 (L.A. Bill No. 43 of 2021). The state said the bill, passed unanimously by the legislative assembly and sent for presidential consideration, was blocked on March 4, 2025, without any reason.

The bill proposes that medical admissions in the state be determined using Class 12 marks with normalisation across boards, replacing the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) as the sole criterion.

According to the petition, the State has raised constitutional issues concerning its legislative autonomy, the scope of Articles 201 and 254(2), and its duty under Article 47 to safeguard public health by ensuring equitable access to medical education.

“The present suit raises substantial question of law as to interpretation of the constitution raising signification questions relating to the State’s legislative autonomy, constitutional federalism, the scope of Article 201, Article 254(2), and the State’s primary duty under Article 47 to safeguard public health by ensuring equitable access to medical education,” the official filing states.

TN NEET implementation and impact on students

Tamil Nadu previously conducted medical admissions based on Class 12 board marks, following the abolition of the Common Entrance Test (CET) in 2007. The official statement in the petition states that the Tamil Nadu Admissions in Professional Educational Institutions Act, 2006, received presidential assent and remained in force for a decade, providing equitable access to medical education for students from rural and socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

From 2017, NEET was made mandatory for admissions nationally. Tamil Nadu claims that NEET has favoured repeat candidates and those who can afford private coaching, disproportionately affecting first-generation learners and students from government schools or Tamil-medium education.

Findings on NEET’s impact in Tamil Nadu

The state cited findings from the Justice (Retired) AK Rajan Committee, which studied NEET’s impact in Tamil Nadu. The committee received over 80,000 responses and concluded that NEET reduces access for disadvantaged students and benefits those from affluent, urban backgrounds with access to coaching.

“The Committee’s report categorically found that NEET-based admissions had tilted the system in favour of affluent, urban, CBSE-educated students who could afford years of private coaching, while excluding bright but underprivileged students from government schools, Tamil-medium education, rural backgrounds, and socio-economically backward classes,” it said.

SC plea against withholding of assent

Tamil Nadu has requested the Supreme Court to declare the presidential withholding of assent to the Tamil Nadu Admission to Undergraduate Medical Degree Courses Bill, 2021, as unconstitutional and illegal.

The state has also asked the court to direct that the bill be deemed to have received presidential assent under Article 254(2) of the Constitution. It also sought an order instructing the President to reconsider the bill for assent under Articles 201 and 254(2). The petition further requests the court to pass any additional orders it considers necessary in the interest of justice.

The state also refers to Supreme Court judgments, including Neil Aurelio Nunes v. Union of India (2022) and Pradeep Jain vs Union of India (1984), to argue that merit cannot be measured solely by exam marks. Social background, opportunity, and public health considerations should also be taken into account.