New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday directed the re-allotment of MBBS seats to three students from Tamil Nadu who lost their admissions due to a bank holiday and a technical glitch in processing their tuition fee payments.

The students — Shilpa, Tanya and Vicshaw — had secured MBBS seats on merit but failed to remit the fees on the last date as it coincided with a bank holiday and was further affected by technical issues in the banking system. As a result, their seats were allotted to other candidates.

They had approached the Madras High Court seeking restoration of their seats. While a single judge allowed their plea and ordered re-allotment, the decision was later set aside by a division bench. This prompted the students to move the Supreme Court.

During the hearing, the Centre opposed any relaxation, arguing that altering the admission process for a few candidates would affect the entire system and that students who missed the deadline could not be granted another opportunity. The Tamil Nadu government also submitted that it was bound by central regulations.

However, a bench headed by Justice B S Narasimha ruled in favour of the students and ordered that their MBBS seats be restored, holding that the loss of admission was due to circumstances beyond their control. With this, the court closed the case.