Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court has directed the state government and the Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences (KNRUHS) to submit counteraffidavits in a writ petition challenging the criteria for determining local candidature.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice Vakiti Ramakrishna Reddy was hearing a petition filed by a postgraduate dental aspirant from Warangal on September 21, the Times of India reported.
The petitioner, Voni Sahith, had challenged a government order issued by the health, medical and family welfare department in 2024. His counsel contended that the order, which governs admissions into medical and dental colleges in Telangana, prescribed eligibility criteria that were not covered by an earlier judgement.
The state opposed the plea by relying on a judgment from December 17, 2024, which held that only candidates who had completed their Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS), Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAMS) or Bachelor of Homoeopathic Medicine and Surgery (BHMS) courses in a ‘local area’, as defined under the Presidential Order, 1974, were eligible to participate in counselling for local category seats.
Advocate General A Sudharshan Reddy submitted that the petitioner had received a post-matric scholarship from the Telangana government while pursuing BDS at Konaseema Institute of Medical Sciences Dental College in Amalapuram, Andhra Pradesh.
However, he argued that the receipt of a scholarship by itself could not confer local status on the candidate as they had pursued their dental course outside the state.
He also contended that treating the petitioner as a local candidate would defeat the object of the local area criteria prescribed under the Presidential order and other government orders.
Without expressing any opinion on the matter, the High Court adjourned the matter by two weeks.
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