Resolve locality quota in MBBS admissions, SC tells Telangana
Says students must not be made to suffer due to ambiguous rules
Hyderabad: The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Telangana government to urgently resolve the ongoing controversy over the implementation of domicile criteria in medical undergraduate admissions. Hearing a batch of petitions challenging the state’s rules, the Supreme Court emphasised that students must not be made to suffer due to ambiguous regulations.
Under the current rules set by the Telangana government, only students who have studied in the state for four consecutive years prior to appearing for the NEET-UG examination are eligible for local quota benefits. However, this clause has drawn widespread criticism for being exclusionary, particularly affecting students who completed schooling in Telangana up to Class 10 but pursued Classes 11 and 12 in other states, often for coaching purposes.
The court pointed out the growing trend of students moving to cities like Kota to prepare for competitive exams and questioned whether such students, despite being long-time residents of Telangana, should be denied domicile status.
“We don’t want students to be troubled unnecessarily,” the bench remarked, warning the state that a judicial directive would be issued if the government failed to resolve the issue promptly.
The court also raised concerns about families who migrated to Andhra Pradesh after the bifurcation but retained domicile in Telangana. “What about those whose parents are from Telangana but moved for jobs?” the bench asked.
This isn’t the first time the matter has come under judicial scrutiny. Last year, the Supreme Court had granted relief to a group of petitioners by exempting them from the rules for that academic year. Following the fresh round of petitions this year, the apex court has issued notice to the state government. The next hearing is scheduled for August 5.
"Presently, the admission process will follow the instructions as per the notification released by the university. If any changes occur due to the Supreme Court directions, the process will be as per the final judgment," KNRUHS vice-chancellor P.V. Nanda Kumar said.
