The Delhi High Court has ruled in favor of a medical aspirant, Meet Bhadresh Shah, allowing his candidature for the DM Critical Care Medicine program at AIIMS. The court set aside AIIMS’ cancellation of Shah’s candidature, stating that completion of the mandatory three-year postgraduate residency can be done across multiple institutions. This decision came after Shah, ranked 4th in the INI-SS January 2026 exam, filed a writ petition challenging AIIMS’ rejection.
The High Court emphasized that the INI-SS prospectus requires completion of “3 years (1,095 days)” of qualification and tenure by a specified date, without specifying that the residency must be from a single institution. Shah had completed his MD residency across three NMC-recognized institutions due to pandemic-related counseling reshuffles, totaling over 1,095 days of training. Despite this, AIIMS rejected his candidature, arguing that the residency experience was fragmented.
Rejecting AIIMS’ stance, the court stressed that eligibility criteria must be clear and uniformly applicable, without room for interpretative additions later on. It noted that AIIMS had initially accepted Shah’s application, allowed him to participate in counseling, and declared him successful without raising eligibility concerns until the final stage. The High Court emphasized the importance of meritocracy and fairness in educational admissions.
Concluding that denying Shah’s admission would go against merit, the Delhi High Court reinstated his candidature, ruling that his fragmented residency met the eligibility criteria under the prospectus. The court directed AIIMS to restore Shah’s candidature for the program.
