The Telangana High Court Wednesday disposed of a writ petition in favour of a student seeking admission to MBBS and BDS courses, after the state government shared its decision to extend relaxation to the student and consider him a “local candidate” despite studying in Andhra Pradesh for the last three years.
The student, a permanent resident of Telangana, had pursued classes 9 to 12 at Sainik School in Korukonda, Andhra Pradesh, under quota for Telangana students, and was deemed a “non-local” candidate in the admission process by Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences (KNRUHS), making him ineligible.
To be considered a “local candidate” during counselling for admission to MBBS and BDS courses, a candidate must have studied the last four consecutive years of his education in Telangana.
The student was denied local candidate status in view of Government Order (Manuscript Series) GOMS No 33 and its subsequent amendment, GOMS No 150, dated September 8, 2025.
The GO No 150 lists specific categories of candidates who can be considered “local” despite having studied outside Telangana. These categories include children of Telangana State Government employees, Telangana cadre All India Services officers, and defence personnel.
Challenging this rule, the petitioner’s counsel, Alluri Divakar Reddy, cited a previous court order from July 24, 2025, which involved a similar case concerning an engineering student who also attended a Sainik School in the unified state of Andhra Pradesh, and the outcome of that case is being used as a precedent.
On Wednesday, Advocate General A Sudarshan Reddy conceded that the Department has agreed to grant this relaxation, allowing Telangana students who studied in the Andhra Pradesh-based Sainik School to be treated as local candidates. He reasoned that since these students studied there under the Telangana quota between 2014 and 2024, as provided under the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014, the relaxation could be extended.
Story continues below this ad
Given this unique arrangement and the provisions of the Reorganisation Act, the court found the petitioner’s claim to be valid. As a result, the court directed the KNRUHS to permit the petitioner to exercise his web option and participate in the counseling process as a “local candidate”. The writ petition was disposed of, with the court noting that the petitioner’s grievance had been fully redressed.
