Plea in Supreme Court against Telangana's 100% MBBS reservation policy for state domicile

NEW DELHI: A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court against the Telangana government’s policy of 100% reservation for local candidates in ‘competent authority quota’ in medical colleges established after June 2014.

The Live law reported that petitioners, who hail from Andhra Pradesh, claimed that the revised admission policy is “illegal, arbitrary and conflicting with Fundamental Rights.” It says that the policy violates Article 14, 16 and 21 of the Constitution. The policy also conflicts with Section 95 and other provisions of Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, the petition added.

Also Read | Telangana reserves 100% MBBS seats for local students in government medical colleges

Telangana government in a June 3 order has reserved all competent authority quota seats in medical colleges that were established in 2014 for candidates domiciled in the state after Telangana gained statehood, Live law reported.

Earlier in a similar petition, Telangana high court had expressed concern over the state’s policy. It had said the government’s order is incompatible with Andhra Pradesh Education Institutional (Regulation of Admission) Order, 1974.

The high court had allowed the state government to declare the result of Telangana NEET after it agreed to consider the admission of petitioners. Now, the petitioners, who have applied in the apex court, have claimed that they have better NEET UG scores than the persons who applied in the high court.

The state government had changed the policy as per which 15% seats in state medical colleges were unreserved, allowing students from both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to compete. A total of 36 medical colleges, of the 56, were added in the state after Telangana gained statehood.