The Himachal Pradesh High Court has quashed directions issued by the Veterinary Council of India (VCI) making NEET-UG merit the basis for admission to B.V.Sc. & A.H. courses, holding that administrative communications cannot override or supplant statutory regulations governing admissions.
The Court was considering a challenge to communications issued by the VCI in May 2026, along with a public notice issued in February 2026, insofar as they permitted admissions to veterinary courses on the basis of NEET-UG merit.
The Court noted that the Veterinary Council of India (Minimum Standards of Veterinary Education) Regulations, 2016, framed under Section 66 of the Indian Veterinary Council Act, have statutory force. Regulation 7 provides for admission to the B.V.Sc. & A.H. course on the basis of merit through a competitive entrance examination conducted by the University, State Government or the VCI.
The Court held that the 2016 Regulations do not provide for NEET-UG merit as a mode of admission to the course. Consequently, the VCI could not introduce a different admission mechanism through administrative communications without first amending the statutory regulations.
Relying on the Supreme Court’s decision in Tej Prakash Pathak v. High Court of Rajasthan, (2025) 2 SCC 1, the Court reiterated that administrative instructions may supplement statutory rules where the rules are silent, but cannot be used to supplant or override rules occupying the field. The Court also relied on the settled principle that executive instructions cannot amend or supersede statutory provisions.
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The Court further noted that an earlier communication issued by the VCI in November 2024 had itself indicated that NEET-based admission could not be insisted upon unless the 2016 Regulations were amended. Since no such amendment had been carried out, the subsequent directions permitting NEET-based admissions could not be sustained.
The Court also rejected the contention that admissions already made on the basis of NEET-UG merit at another veterinary institution would prevent the University from conducting its own entrance examination. It clarified that it was not expressing any opinion on the legality of admissions already made elsewhere.
The Court accordingly quashed the VCI communications dated May 8 and May 11, 2026, and the public notice dated February 8, 2026, to the extent that they made NEET-UG merit the basis for admission to B.V.Sc. & A.H. courses.
Since no steps had been taken by the VCI or the State authorities to conduct the common entrance examination contemplated under the 2016 Regulations, the Court permitted the University to conduct its own common entrance examination within 10 days.
The Court further directed that the entrance examination, declaration of results, first and second counselling and mop-up round be completed within 14 days of the judgment and before September 30, 2026.
