Supreme Court grants interim relief to petitioner in Nagaland MBBS case

The Supreme Court on Monday granted interim relief to Vatsala Panghal, allowing her to participate in the Nagaland MBBS counseling process, while clarifying that such participation would not confer any right or claim in her favour.
The apex court issued the order while hearing a Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by Panghal against the State of Nagaland and others, arising out of the Gauhati High Court judgment dated October 23, 2025, in Writ Appeal No. 260/2025.
A bench comprising Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Justice Atul S. Chandurkar heard the matter and issued notice, permitting service of notice on the standing counsel for the State of Nagaland.
“The petitioner is permitted to serve notice on the standing counsel for the State. However, as an interim measure, the petitioner shall be permitted to participate in the counseling. We make it clear that this order shall not give any right to claim in favour of the petitioner,” the court stated.
Earlier, several organisations had strongly objected to the candidature of a non-indigenous candidate seeking admission under the Nagaland state quota for NEET 2025.