Hyderabad: The Supreme Court has issued notices to the Telangana government over a challenge to its local quota policy in MBBS admissions, following a plea by eight students who argued that the current criteria unfairly exclude genuine locals. The matter of MBBS local quota, which came up before Justices P.K. Mishra and A.G. Masih, has now been listed with an order directing the state to file its response within four weeks.
Senior advocate Goutham Narayan, representing the students, argued that the state’s rules were leaving out students born and raised in Telangana simply because they pursued their intermediate education in neighbouring states. He pointed out that these students had completed their schooling from Classes 1 to 10 within Telangana and had roots firmly planted in the state, with both parents being permanent residents. However, the rule insisting on four consecutive years of study within Telangana prior to appearing for NEET UG has effectively disqualified them from availing themselves of the local quota.
The students argued that this rule, ironically, benefits candidates from outside Telangana who meet the four-year condition, while shutting the door on those who might have moved temporarily for their higher secondary education. Narayan told the court that the state government’s decision to implement this rule came only after the academic year had commenced, by which time the students had already secured admissions in colleges outside the state.
Justice P.K. Mishra initially observed that the students might consider approaching the Telangana High Court, but Narayan countered that with the NEET UG results scheduled for June 14 and counselling set to begin immediately thereafter, any delay could jeopardise the students’ chances of participating in the admission process. He said that the intervention of Supreme Court was necessary to ensure that these students were not unfairly deprived of their right to be considered under the local quota.
After hearing the arguments, Justice Mishra issued notices to the Telangana government, directing it to respond within four weeks. He also clarified that should any urgent situation arise in the meantime, the students were at liberty to mention the matter before the vacation benches currently sitting in court. The bench made it clear that the state must provide clarity on its policy, particularly in the context of students who have studied most of their lives in Telangana but might have temporarily shifted for educational reasons.
The hearing also saw submissions from former Advocate General Sriram, who represented other students facing similar issues. He argued that the rule imposed by the state was effectively undermining the rights of genuine Telangana students—the sons of the soil—by denying them the benefits of the local quota. His arguments prompted a light-hearted comment from Justice Mishra, who quipped that these sons of the soil had migrated to another soil, drawing a brief smile in the otherwise serious courtroom.
Senior advocates L. Narasimha Reddy, Jandhyala Ravishankar, and Shravan Kumar appeared for the Telangana government and are expected to file their detailed responses. With the NEET UG results looming and counselling set to commence, the court’s notice has opened up a fresh debate on how the local quota is defined and applied in one of the state’s most competitive admission processes.
