AP medicos move SC over TS reserving 100% seats for locals

VIJAYAWADA: AP students aspiring to pursue MBBS course have moved the Supreme Court to challenge the Telangana government’s recent order reserving 100 per cent of its MBBS seats for local TS candidates under the “competent authority quota” in medical colleges set up after June 2014.

The Telangana government’s move has been aimed at providing a better opportunity for TS students to enrol in a local medical college, as part of its efforts to bolster local healthcare services and access to medical education for Telangana students.

However, MBBS aspirants from AP have challenged the revised admission policy, claiming it is illegal and arbitrary, conflicting with the fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 14, 16, and 21 of the Constitution. They argued that the discriminatory policy will also violate section 95 and other provisions of the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014.

Incidentally, the Telangana High Court, while hearing a similar plea, expressed concern over the Telangana government’s order being incompatible with the AP Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admissions) Order, 1974. This order says that the Presidential Order provides for the reservation of seats in favour of local candidates in the course of studies provided by the universities and other educational institutions without affecting the affirmative action policies of the state government for women or people belonging to SC, ST and socially and educationally backward classes.

Despite its prima facie observation, the TS High Court allowed the Telangana government and its health university to declare admission results after they agreed to consider six petitioner candidature at the first instance with respect to admission in the 20-odd medical colleges in Telangana.

However, the petitioners claimed that they possessed better NEET scores and All India ranks than the six candidates who were granted relief by the Telangana High Court. The petitioners further claimed that despite registering for web counselling for the MBBS course and opting for their choice of colleges out of 56 medical colleges in the state, they were not allotted seats by the Kaloji Narayarnarao University of Health Sciences in 36 colleges that were set up after the formation of Telangana.