On 1 September 2017, a 17-year-old Dalit student from Ariyalur who had challenged NEET in the Supreme Court died by suicide after failing to win a medical seat. Students, the opposition DMK, Left parties and Tamil groups protested across Tamil Nadu for weeks, and on 8 September the Supreme Court ordered the state to stop agitations that disrupted normal life. The state's exemption bills never became law: the President withheld assent in 2025.
Key takeaways
- The student, a Class 12 topper who had joined the Supreme Court case against NEET, died on 1 September 2017, ten days after the court ordered NEET-based admissions in Tamil Nadu.
- Students, the DMK, Left parties, the VCK and Tamil groups protested in Chennai, Coimbatore, Salem, Madurai and other districts, with road and rail blockades and many detentions.
- On 8 September 2017 the Supreme Court told the state to prevent agitations that disrupt normal life, while noting the right to protest peacefully.
- Tamil Nadu's exemption bills of 2017 and 2021 never became law; the President withheld assent to the 2021 bill in April 2025.
Background: Tamil Nadu and NEET
Before NEET, Tamil Nadu admitted students to medical colleges on the basis of Class 12 marks. The state argued that the national test, based on the CBSE syllabus, favoured CBSE students and hurt rural and state board students The Quint.
In February 2017 the Tamil Nadu Assembly unanimously adopted two bills to keep medical admissions based on Class 12 marks PTI via Business Standard. In June 2018 the state Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar told the Assembly that "the President has withheld the Bills" PTI via Business Standard. In July 2019 the Centre told the Madras High Court that the President had rejected them The News Minute.
The one-year exemption that fell through
On 13 August 2017, Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that if the Tamil Nadu government "adopts the ordinance route and asks for a one year exemption, we are ready to oblige." The state handed the Centre a draft ordinance the next day The News Minute.
The Union Law and HRD ministries cleared the ordinance, but when the Health Ministry cited past Supreme Court judgments, Attorney General K.K. Venugopal reversed his view and said it was not legally valid The Quint.
On 22 August 2017 the Supreme Court ruled that Tamil Nadu's medical colleges must admit students through NEET and ordered counselling finished by 4 September The Quint. DMK leader M.K. Stalin said: "The people of Tamil Nadu will not forgive the betrayal of both the Centre and State government in the NEET issue." Two days later the DMK led an agitation joined by the Congress, CPI(M), CPI, VCK and MMK PTI via Deccan Herald.
How it started: a death in Ariyalur
The student was the daughter of a daily labourer from a village in Ariyalur district. She scored 1,176 out of 1,200 in her Class 12 state board exams and had gone to the Supreme Court against NEET, arguing that it would hurt poor rural students IANS via Eastern Mirror. Deccan Herald reported she scored 86 in NEET, against a cut-off of 196.8, and gave her age as 18; most reports said 17 Deccan Herald.
She died by suicide on 1 September 2017, after failing to secure a medical seat IANS via Moneylife.
How the protests spread
On 2 September political parties, student bodies and Tamil groups took to the streets with road and rail blockades and attempts to picket government offices. Students trying to protest on Greenways Road near Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami's house were detained. CPI(M) state secretary G. Ramakrishnan and others were detained at an SFI and DYFI road blockade, and VCK workers were held at Kilpauk PTI via Business Standard.
In Coimbatore, hundreds of students and party workers were arrested, and police arrested 11 people over an attempt to burn an effigy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Protests were also held in Salem, Madurai, Rameswaram and Tirunelveli, and traders shut shops in Ariyalur PTI via Business Standard.
On 3 September, activists of the May 17 Movement were detained trying to lay siege to the BJP's state headquarters in Chennai, and scores of VCK volunteers were detained PTI via Eastern Mirror.
From 4 September college students joined in large numbers. Students of colleges on Chennai's outskirts staged a rail roko; on 5 September more than 500 Loyola College students protested at their gate, and students of Presidency, Pachaiyappa's and Madras Medical College joined. SFI, AISF and AIYF members were detained at road and rail blockades in Chennai DT Next.
The DMK and its allies planned a public meeting against NEET in Tiruchy on 8 September. City police cancelled the permission, citing the Supreme Court's order that day. Stalin consulted party leaders and lawyers and announced the meeting would go ahead as scheduled Deccan Chronicle.
The Supreme Court's 8 September order
The order came on a PIL by Supreme Court advocate G.S. Mani. A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and D.Y. Chandrachud issued notice to the Chief Secretary and said the state should ensure no agitation took place over NEET, which a constitution bench had upheld IANS via Moneylife.
Reports framed the order differently. IANS reported that the court "banned all anti-NEET protests" IANS via Moneylife. LiveLaw reported that the court distinguished peaceful protest from a breakdown of law and order, relying on its 1998 ruling against bandhs and a 2009 order on Sethusamudram agitations LiveLaw. PTI reported that the court said every citizen has a fundamental right to protest peacefully but cannot cause violence or paralyse law and order, and directed the state to prosecute anyone whose activity stalled normal life PTI via Medical Dialogues.
At the next hearing the bench asked the Chief Secretary to file an affidavit within two weeks on steps taken, and listed the case for 19 October PTI via Medical Dialogues. On 19 September Justice N. Kirubakaran of the Madras High Court asked the state how many anti-NEET protests had taken place and whether any organisation was instigating the students PTI via Business Standard.
Both accounts
Protesters' and opposition account
Protesters held both governments responsible. Students sought a judicial inquiry and asked the state government to take moral responsibility and resign PTI. Claim · DMK Stalin faulted the BJP and AIADMK for failing to secure even a one-year exemption, and pledged to "bring Education under the State List". The DMK said it gave the family Rs 10 lakh PTI via Eastern Mirror. Dhinakaran said: "In the interest of the people of Tamil Nadu, Central government should cancel NEET." PTI
Centre's and state government's position
Centre's position The Union Health Ministry argued that exempting one state would encourage other states to demand the same Newslaundry. BJP state president Tamilisai Soundararajan called NEET a "pan-India issue" held under a Supreme Court order, claimed rural students had benefited more from NEET, and said: "Let this not be highlighted as brutal politics." State government's position The ruling AIADMK said it opposed NEET; Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker M. Thambidurai expressed regret PTI. The family rejected the state government's compensation ThePrint.
Outcome
- Detentions and arrests: Hundreds were detained or arrested across the state, including CPI(M) leader G. Ramakrishnan in Chennai and 11 people in Coimbatore over the effigy attempt, per police PTI. No consolidated statewide figure was published in the reports we found.
- Policy: NEET stayed in force in Tamil Nadu. In 2020 the AIADMK government introduced a 7.5% quota for government school students who clear NEET Deccan Herald.
Later history: the Rajan committee and the 2021 bill
After winning power in 2021, the DMK set up a committee under retired Madras High Court judge A.K. Rajan. Its report, submitted on 14 July 2021, said 65,007 of 86,342 public submissions opposed NEET The Quint. It said NEET worked mainly for repeaters (71 per cent in 2021) and coached students, and that the Tamil-medium share of MBBS admissions fell from 19.79% in 2010 to 1.6% in 2017, and warned the state's health care could go back to the "pre-independence era" Deccan Herald.
The Assembly passed a NEET exemption bill based on the report in September 2021 Scroll. On 1 February 2022 Governor R.N. Ravi returned it, saying it was "against interests of the students specially the rural and economically poor students," and citing the Supreme Court's 2020 Christian Medical College, Vellore ruling that upheld NEET PTI via BW Businessworld. The Assembly re-adopted it unanimously on 8 February 2022 after the BJP walked out PTI via Careers360.
In February 2023 Tamil Nadu filed an original suit in the Supreme Court under Article 131, arguing that NEET violates federalism and Article 14 LiveLaw. On 4 April 2025 Stalin told the Assembly that President Droupadi Murmu had withheld assent to the bill, calling it a "dark chapter in federalism" Scroll. He said "our fight is far from over" Tribune. An all-party meeting resolved to press the pending suit and consider a fresh case Deccan Herald.
Where things stand in 2026
The TVK won 108 seats in the 2026 Assembly election and C. Joseph Vijay was sworn in as Chief Minister on 10 May 2026 South First. On 13 May, after NEET-UG 2026 was cancelled over a paper leak, he urged the Centre "to completely abolish it" and let states fill state-quota seats on Class 12 marks ETV Bharat IANS via The News Minute.
By July 2026 Vijay faced criticism for not backing the national student protests over the leak. Police detained rapper Arivu when he tried to protest near the Secretariat. State government data cited by ThePrint counted at least 26 NEET-related deaths in Tamil Nadu between 2017 and 2024 ThePrint. We found no report of a ruling on Tamil Nadu's 2023 suit; NEET remains the route to medical admission in the state.
Questions people ask
Why did anti-NEET protests break out in Tamil Nadu in September 2017?
A 17-year-old Dalit student from Ariyalur who scored 1,176 out of 1,200 in Class 12 and had challenged NEET in the Supreme Court died by suicide on 1 September 2017 after failing to win a medical seat. Her death came ten days after the court ordered NEET-based admissions in the state.
What did the Supreme Court order on 8 September 2017?
On a PIL by advocate G.S. Mani, a bench led by Chief Justice Dipak Misra told Tamil Nadu to ensure no agitation over NEET disrupted normal life and to prosecute those who stalled it. It said peaceful protest remains a fundamental right.
What happened to Tamil Nadu's NEET exemption bills?
The 2017 bills did not get presidential assent. The 2021 bill was returned by the Governor in February 2022, re-passed, and denied assent by the President in April 2025.
Is Tamil Nadu still exempt from NEET?
No. NEET applies in Tamil Nadu. The state's Supreme Court suit filed in 2023 is pending as far as reports show, and Chief Minister Vijay asked the Centre in May 2026 to abolish the exam.
Sources
- IANS via Moneylife: SC bans all anti-NEET protests in Tamil Nadu, 8 Sept 2017
- LiveLaw: SC permits peaceful protests in Tamil Nadu against NEET, but warns against disruption of normal life, 8 Sept 2017
- PTI via Medical Dialogues: SC pulls up TN govt on NEET issue, asks for steps taken to control protests, Sept 2017
- PTI via Business Standard: What steps have you taken to check anti-NEET protests, HC to TN, 19 Sept 2017
- PTI via Business Standard: NEET: Tamil Nadu erupts in protest over Dalit girl's suicide, 2 Sept 2017
- IANS via Eastern Mirror: Protests in Tamil Nadu over suicide of student, 2 Sept 2017
- PTI via Eastern Mirror: Protests over Dalit girl's death; DMK vows to continue fight, 3 Sept 2017
- Deccan Herald: Dalit student who moved SC against NEET dies, 1 Sept 2017
- DT Next: 'Scrap NEET' chorus grows louder, 6 Sept 2017
- Deccan Chronicle: DMK rally in Tiruchy: row over permit order, 9 Sept 2017
- PTI via Deccan Herald: BJP, AIADMK have 'betrayed' medical aspirants in TN: Stalin, 24 Aug 2017
- The Quint: SC says no NEET exemption for TN after AG withdraws support, 22 Aug 2017
- The News Minute: NEET disappointment for TN, 22 Aug 2017
- Newslaundry: Supreme Court to Tamil Nadu: No exemption from NEET, 22 Aug 2017
- PTI via Business Standard: Stalin raises issue of assent for NEET Bills in TN Assembly, 28 June 2018
- The News Minute: President has rejected TN govt's bills to exclude state from NEET: Centre to Madras HC, 7 July 2019
- Deccan Herald: NEET thwarts medical dream of underprivileged groups: Tamil Nadu panel, 20 Sept 2021
- The Quint: 10 takeaways from Tamil Nadu's A K Rajan report, 25 Sept 2021
- PTI via BW Businessworld: TN Guv returns NEET exemption bill, Feb 2022
- PTI via Careers360: Tamil Nadu Assembly again adopts anti-NEET bill, 8 Feb 2022
- LiveLaw: Tamil Nadu govt files suit in Supreme Court challenging NEET, 18 Feb 2023
- Scroll: 'Dark chapter in federalism', says CM Stalin as president withholds assent, 5 Apr 2025
- Tribune: Stalin slams govt over denial of nod to anti-NEET Bill, 5 Apr 2025
- Deccan Herald: Tamil Nadu to go to court against rejection of anti-NEET bill, if required, 9 Apr 2025
- South First: TVK President C Joseph Vijay takes oath as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, 10 May 2026
- ETV Bharat: Abolish NEET, allow states to fill seats on Class 12 marks: Vijay, 13 May 2026
- IANS via The News Minute: Vijay renews demand to scrap NEET after 2026 exam cancellation, 14 May 2026
- ThePrint: Tamil Nadu's legacy of NEET opposition puts Vijay's silence on Delhi protests under spotlight, 22 July 2026