Hyderabad: A two-judge panel of the Telangana High Court, comprising Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice J. Sreenivas Rao, issued a significant ruling on Tuesday regarding the local candidature criteria for admissions to medical and dental colleges in Telangana. The bench read down Rule 3(a) of the Telangana Medical & Dental Colleges Admission Rules, 2017, as amended by Government Order (G.O.) 33.The amendment in question, introduced by G.O. 33, stipulated that candidates could be considered local if they had either studied in the state for at least four consecutive years or resided in the state for at least four years before appearing for the intermediate exam. This rule was challenged in a batch of 53 writ petitions filed by candidates seeking admission to MBBS and BDS courses for the 2024-25 academic year.The petitioners argued that the rule unfairly classified them as non-local candidates despite their significant educational ties to Telangana. They cited circumstances such as having studied intermediate education in other states due to their parents’ government jobs, and other reasons while still being permanent residents of Telangana.The bench took into account that a similar rule had been read down the previous year, allowing candidates with permanent resident certificates to be considered local. The Advocate General, A. Sudarshan Reddy, defended the amended rule, citing its validity and reasonableness. He referenced a Supreme Court judgment that upheld more stringent rules in Assam and argued that the previous court decision did not consider the latest Supreme Court ruling in Rajdeep Ghosh vs. The State of Assam.After detailed hearings spanning three days, the bench has now read down Rule 3(a) of the Telangana Medical & Dental Colleges Admission Rules, 2017, as amended by G.O. 33. The new order permits candidates to submit a permanent residence certificate to be classified as local candidates.
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