Last week, the state government assured the Supreme Court that the original petitioners would be treated as “local” and allocated seats based on merit. This assurance came during a hearing on the government's special leave petition in the Supreme Court challenging a recent High Court order. However, the government clarified that this relief was a one-time measure for the 2024-25 academic year.
As a result, hundreds of other students who did not petition the court were left out, many of whom were top scorers. One such student, Pranav Gade, expressed his frustration on X, stating, "I’m a Telangana resident, educated in Hyderabad except for intermediate classes in Andhra Pradesh. Despite scoring 634 marks in NEET UG after a year of preparation, I didn’t make the merit list because of the new rules, which were introduced three months after the exam. By then, other admissions had closed, leaving us no options. The government set us up to fail."
He told Deccan Chronicle that most students who could not approach the court earlier and were affected by the issue were hopeful that justice would be served to all affected students and not just those who approached the court. However, in a final attempt for justice, Pranav and some other students petitioned the High Court again on Wednesday. Advocate Kiran Kumar, representing them, argued, "It’s not up to the state to determine who qualifies as local. The state must ensure fair treatment for all."