Telangana HC allows Vikarabad student to join MBBS, BDS counselling

The Telangana High Court has directed KNRUHS to allow a Vikarabad student to participate in the second phase of MBBS and BDS counselling as a local candidate. The interim direction came in a petition challenging her exclusion from Telangana ST reservation

Hyderabad: Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice G.M. Mohiuddin of the Telangana High Court directed the Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences (KNRUHS) to permit a Vikarabad student to participate in the ongoing second phase of MBBS and BDS counselling as a local candidate under the Competent Authority quota, subject to the final outcome of her writ petition.

The Bench passed the interim order on a petition filed by Chawan Aarthi, a student from Vikarabad, challenging her exclusion from the Telangana Scheduled Tribe quota for NEET-UG admissions for the academic year 2026-27. The University had included her name in the list of candidates who were stated to be ineligible to claim the Telangana ST reservation on the ground that they had migrated from other States.

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Counsel for the petitioner, Prabhakar Chikkudu, contended that the petitioner’s parents had been issued Community Certificates by the competent authority in Vikarabad, recognising them as belonging to the Lambadis-28 (ST) community. He further pointed out that the petitioner had studied for the preceding four years in educational institutions in Telangana and that her residence and educational certificates reflected her parentage.

The University, however, relied upon the Supreme Court judgment in Marri Chandra Shekhar Rao v. Dean, Seth G.S. Medical College and submitted that the petitioner figured in the list of candidates who had migrated from Karnataka and Maharashtra and were not entitled to the benefit of the Telangana ST reservation.

The University also brought to the court’s notice a letter allegedly addressed by the petitioner stating that she did not wish to avail herself of the Telangana ST benefits as her caste fell under the Scheduled Caste category in Karnataka.

The Assistant Government Pleader for the Social Welfare Department submitted that the Tahsildar, Vikarabad Mandal, was the competent authority to issue the Community Certificates and sought time to file a counter-affidavit.

Taking note of the Community Certificates issued to the petitioner’s parents, the residence certificate showing her as the daughter of Chawan Shankar and the corresponding parentage reflected in her SSC and Intermediate certificates, the Bench observed that it would not be proper, at this stage, to deny her local status for participating in the ongoing second phase of counselling.

Accordingly, the Bench directed KNRUHS to allow Aarthi to participate in the counselling process as a local candidate, subject to the final outcome of the writ petition. The court further directed the University and the Social Welfare Department to file their counter-affidavits and posted the matter to September 30.