Telangana MBBS Domicile Quota : Supreme Court Says Students Can't Be Excluded Just Because They Went Outside State For Class 12; Reserves Judgment

The Supreme Court today (August 5) reserved its order on the challenge to the order of the Telangana High Court, which held that a permanent resident need not be required to study or reside in Telangana for 4 continuous years to get the benefit of domicile quota in medical admissions.The bench led by CJI BR Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran was hearing the plea filed by the Telangana State Government. Previously, the Court had stayed the impugned order while taking on record the state of Telangana that it was ready to grant a one-time exception for the petitioners who had approached the High Court.Before the High Court, a batch of petitions challenged the validity of Rule 3(a) of Telangana Medical and Dental Colleges Admission (Admission into MBBS & BDS Courses) Rules, 2017 (Rules 2017), which was amended by the State on July 19, 2024. The amendment was done as per G.O no.33 dated 19.7.2024.The amended Rule 3(a) of the Rules 2017 provides that a candidate seeking admission under the 'Competent Authority Quota' for local candidates must study in the State of Telangana for a period of 4 consecutive years or reside in the state for 4 years. In addition, the candidate has to pass the qualifying examination from the State of Telangana.During the hearing, the CJI verbally remarked that the bench was inclined to pass an interim order permitting those students who are from Telangana but had gone out of the State for their 11th and 12th class studies. He said :" We are making it clear that via the interim order, we are permitting only those who are otherwise from Telangana but for some reason gone outside to pursue 11-12th." " We will not permit such students who are not aware to be prejudiced," he added. The bench clarified that it was of the view to give the benefit of the domicile quota to those students who would otherwise be left out due to studying for higher classes elsewhere. Sr. Adv AM Singhvi, appearing for the State, said that the present policy is based on Article 371D of the Constitution. Notably, Article 371 D (1) states : "The President may, by order made with respect to the State of Andhra Pradesh, provide, having regard to the requirements of the State as a whole, for equitable opportunities and facilities for the people belonging to different parts of the State, in the matter of public employment and in the matter of education, and different provisions may be made for various parts of the State."He then referred to the Presidential order of July 1, 1974 - Andhra Pradesh Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admissions) Order, 1974, made in light of Article 371D, where the term 'local area' meant the region of Telangana. The main contention of Singhvi was that the present domicile rule has been brought for the benefit of those students belonging to poor or middle-class families who have lived and studied in Telangana throughout. He added that the domicile benefit, under the Presidential order of 1974, was being given to those residing in Andhra Pradesh also. He submitted that after the creation of the state of Telangana in 2014, the status quo on domicile benefit would end after 10 years, that is, in 2024. " For the specific case of Andhra, they know for 10 years (the benefit will prevail) and the cut-off (for domicile) will happen in 2024- 2025. They know that this benefit will end" Referring to the Order of 1974, the CJI observed that the order which Singhvi relies upon was made when Telangana was not a separate state and refers to different regions associated with different Universities at that time. He pointed out that the present issue is with respect to medical colleges affiliated with Medical Universities of today. Notably, paragraph 3 of the 1974 Order states : 3. Local area:– (1) The part of the State comprising the districts of Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam, West Godavari, East Godavari, Krishna, Guntur and Prakasam shall be regarded as the local area for the purposes of admission to the Andhra University (Nagarjuna University) and to any other educational institution (other than a State-wide University or State-wide educational institution) which is subject to the control of the State Government and is situated in that part.(2) The part of the State comprising the districts of Adilabad, Hyderabad, Karimnagar, Khammam, Mahaboobnagar, Medak, Nalgonda, Nizamabad and Warangal shall be regarded as the local area for the purposes of admission to the Osmania University (Kakatiya University) and to any other educational institution (other than a State-wide University or State-wide educational institution) which is subject to the control of the State Government and is situated in that part.(3) The part of the State comprising the districts of Anantapur, Cuddapah, Kurnool, Chittoor and Nellore shall be regarded as the local area for the purposes of admission to Sri Venkateswara University and to any other educational institution (other than a State-wide University or State-wide educational...

Telangana MBBS Domicile Quota : Supreme Court Says Students Can't Be Excluded Just Because They Went Outside State For Class 12; Reserves Judgment

Anmol Kaur Bawa

The Court also asked the State why can't the implementation of the quota be deferred till 2028.

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