Synopsis

The petitioner, a person with 55% Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), registered for JEE-Mains Session 1 as a General candidate because she did not have a disability certificate at that time. For Session 2, she obtained her disability certificate and later a Unique Disability ID (UDID), and sought to change her category to General-PwD. After verification and issuance of admit card, she appeared for the examination on 02.04.2026. However, her result was withheld with a cryptic remark "Result Later". NTA cited ongoing verification of her temporary UDID (marked 'T' for temporary) as the reason. The court held that NTA cannot withhold the result after issuing admit card and conducting verification, especially when the candidate would suffer irreparable loss (missing JEE-Advanced registration). The court directed NTA to declare the result by 27.04.2026, while preserving NTA's right to cancel the result later if any discrepancy is found.

Court: High Court of Delhi at New Delhi

Coram: Hon'ble Mr. Justice Tejas Karia

Date of Decision: 23rd April 2026

Citation: W.P.(C) 5512/2026 (unreported)

Core Law: Constitutional Law – Articles 14, 21 (right against arbitrary action, right to fair treatment); Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016; Principles of Natural Justice

1.  Heading of the judgment

High court of delhi at new delhi

Writ petition (civil) no.5512 of 2026

Vrinda goel (petitioner) vs. National testing agency (nta) (respondent)

Coram: hon'ble mr. justice tejas karia

Date of decision: 23rd april, 2026

2. Legal framework

Major laws and provisions involved:

• Constitution of india, 1950 – article 14 (right to equality and against arbitrary state action), article 21 (right to fair procedure and against deprivation of opportunity)

• Rights of persons with disabilities act, 2016 – provisions relating to issue of disability certificate and UDID (specifically Section 57 regarding certification of disability)

• Information bulletin for jee-mains examination, 2026 – clause 4.2.4(5) (verification of documents for PwD reservation; consequences of fake documents), clause 5.5.3 (withholding or cancellation of result for unfair means)

Subject matter of the judgment:

Whether the National Testing Agency (NTA) can withhold the result of a PwD candidate who has been issued an admit card after verification of her disability certificate and UDID, solely on the ground that the UDID is marked as 'temporary' (curable disability) and further verification is pending, when such withholding would cause irreparable prejudice by preventing participation in the next stage (JEE-Advanced registration).

Key leg

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