Karnataka HC Orders ₹15 Lakh Compensation to Student Denied MBBS Seat: The Karnataka High Court has ordered Siddhartha Academy of Higher Education, Tumkur to pay ₹15 lakh compensation to a student, Sanjana V. Tumkuru, who was unfairly denied an MBBS seat in 2017-18 despite meeting all eligibility requirements.
Siddhartha Academy is a deemed university, with State Home Minister G. Parameshwara serving as its Chancellor. The court held the institute responsible for breaking its assurance to the student and directed that the compensation must be paid within two months.
Sanjana, who had secured All India Rank 1,95,911 in NEET UG 2017, attended counselling on September 1, 2017. She submitted all original documents and paid ₹15.6 lakh as first-year fees. The college verbally assured her admission but did not issue any receipt or allotment letter. Later, when the college asked for a bank guarantee of ₹52.5 lakh, she arranged it and submitted it on time. Despite this, the college refused her admission, saying the list had already been sent to the Medical Council of India.
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Her lawyer argued that students with lower NEET ranks were admitted, while Sanjana was left out. He also pointed out that the Chancellor had issued a letter in October 2017, promising her a free MBBS seat in the 2018-19 academic year, but this commitment was never honoured.
With no choice left, Sanjana joined Basaveshwara Medical College through state counselling in 2018, where she was forced to pay a much higher fee of ₹24.2 lakh for her first year.
Join NEET News 2025 The university argued that she delayed approaching the court and claimed the Chancellor’s letter was fabricated. However, the High Court rejected these claims, stating that the assurance letter was signed by the Chancellor, college principal, and Sanjana herself, with no evidence of coercion.
The bench declared that Sanjana had acted responsibly by paying fees and submitting documents on time. It concluded that she was wrongly denied admission and deserved compensation.
The court has directed Siddhartha Academy to pay ₹15 lakh to Sanjana within two months.
