MBBS Aspirants From Andhra Pradesh Move Supreme Court Against 100% Reservation For Local Candidates In 'Competent Authority Quota' In Telangana Medical Colleges

By a July 3 order, the state government has reserved all competent authority quota seats in medical colleges established after Telangana’s formation, for local MBBS aspirants domiciled in the state. It has contended that this is an effort to provide Telangana students with a better opportunity to enrol in a local medical college within the state, which is in line with the government’s aim to bolster local healthcare services and access to medical education. The petitioners – MBBS aspirants hailing from the neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh – have, however, challenged this revised admission policy as illegal, arbitrary, and conflicting with the fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 14, 16, and 21. The petitioners have also argued that this ‘discriminatory’ policy violates Section 95 and other provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act, 2014.

While hearing a similar plea filed, initially the Telangana High Court expressed concerns over the government order’s incompatibility with the Andhra Pradesh Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admissions) Order, 1974. This presidential order provided for the reservation of seats in favour of local candidates in courses of study provided by the universities and other educational institutions without affecting the affirmative action policies of the state governments for women, or people belonging to scheduled castes (SC), scheduled tribes (ST), or socially and educationally backward classes (SEBC). Despite this prima facie observation, the high court recently allowed the state government and the university to declare the admission results after they agreed to consider the six petitioners’ candidature at the first instance with respect to the 20 old medical colleges in Telangana.

The current batch of petitioners, who have approached the Supreme Court, have claimed that they possess better NEET scores and All-India ranks than those six candidates who were granted relief by the Telangana High Court. Despite registering for web counselling for the MBBS course and filling out their choice of colleges out of the 56 medical colleges in the state, these candidates were not allotted seats by the Kaloji Narayanrao University of Health Sciences in the 36 colleges that were established after Telangana’s formation.

The petitioners have alleged that the Telangana government revised the admission policy driven by an ulterior motive to discriminate against students from Andhra Pradesh. The policy of 100 per cent reservation is in violation of, among other provisions, Article 14 of the Constitution, the petitioners have emphasised. They have argued that the reservation policy necessitates judicial intervention owing to the infringement on the fundamental rights of equality and opportunity, stating –

“Article 14 mandates that the State shall not deny any person equality opportunity. By reserving 100% of seats for local candidates, the impugned order treats unequals as equals, thereby denying the meritorious candidates an equal opportunity. The action of the State of Telangana and Kaloji University is clearly in violation of Article 14 and the law laid down by the Supreme Court.”

The MBBS aspirants are represented by Advocate P Thirumala Rao and their petition has been filed through Advocate-on-Record Filza Moonis.

Background

In July, the State of Telangana issued an order eliminating its earlier 15 per cent unreserved quota for admissions in medical colleges established in the state after June 2, 2014, effectively allocating 100 per cent of seats to local students. The government sought to justify the amendment to the admission rules for Telangana state medical colleges citing the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act and Article 371D of the Constitution.

Under the revised rules, all competent authority quota seats in medical colleges established after June 2, 2014 – the date on which Telangana gained statehood – are exclusively reserved for students domiciled in the state. Previously, only 85 per cent of the seats were reserved for local students, while the remaining 15 per cent were unreserved in all medical colleges. Now, only those colleges that existed before Telangana was carved out of Andhra Pradesh in 2014 will continue to fill 15 per cent of its seats with students from other states, including Andhra Pradesh. This change in policy will affect the admission to 36 new medical colleges, while the 20 colleges existing before Telangana’s formation will continue to admit students from other states as well.

Upset with the revised admission rules, a batch of petitioners has approached the Supreme Court challenging the new reservation policy as arbitrary and unconstitutional. A similar plea is also being heard by the Telangana High Court, in which a bench headed by former acting chief justice Abhinand Kumar Shavili issued notice in July. In August, the high court allowed the state government and the Kaloji University to declare the outcome of the 2023-24 admission process after taking their undertaking on record that the candidature of the six petitioners who approached the court would be considered at the first instance with respect to the 20 old medical colleges.

Case Details

Chinnam Sai Yasaswini & Ors. v. Union of India & Ors. | Writ Petition (Civil) No. ___ of 2023