The Supreme Court has directed the Goa government to grant one medical seat under the sports quota to In dia’s international sailor Pearl Milind Colvalcar for admission to NEET (UG) 2025. Colvalcar had ap proached the apex court challenging the August 25, 2025 order of the High Court of Bombay at Goa, which had quashed the State government’s de cision to allocate vacant seats under the Children of Freedom Fighters category to eligible sportspersons under the sports quota. A Bench of Justice Pami dighantam Sri Narasimha and Justice Atul S Chan durkar, while declining to interfere with the High Court’s order on merits, granted relief to Colvalcar considering the special circumstances of the case. “We are not inclined to interfere with the order passed by the High Court. However, in the facts and circumstances of the case and to do complete justice, we direct that one seat under the sports quota be adjusted from a seat that would have otherwise remained unfilled,” the Bench observed, adding that the decision “shall not be treated as a precedent.”
The apex court disposed of the special leave petition ac cordingly. During an earlier hearing, the Supreme Court had issued notices to the State government and other respondents. The High Court had earlier ruled that the introduction of a sports quota in MBBS and BDS admissions midway through the admission process amounted to “changing the rules of the game” and was therefore invalid. However, Colvalcar argued that the quota was not intro duced midway but was part of a process initiated in 2009 under the Goa Sports Policy, and had been incorporated well before the publication of the merit list and the first round of counselling. Colvalcar had sought admission to an MBBS course under the sports quota for the NEET (UG) 2025 academic year.
