Allot med seat to 1st ranker, orders court

The Hyderabad High Court on Tuesday directed the NTR University of Health Sciences in Vijayawada of AP and Kaloji Narayana Rao Health University in Warangal of TS to treat one of the three seats in MCH (Surgical Oncology) Course as unreserved and allot it to the petitioner who got the first rank in the entrance test conducted for the admission into the course.

A division bench comprising Justice V. Ramasubramanian and Justice Anis was allowing a petition by Dr Phanindra Kumar Nagisetty declaring the action of the NTR University in not accepting his application for the course along with several other aspirants from nonOsmania University area, and declaration of the Kaloji University reserving all the three seats in the DM/ MCH (Surgical Oncology) course only to applicants from Osmania University, as illegal.

C.V. Sumon, counsel for the petitioner, said that Telangana region had only one seat in undivided AP and after bifurcation, the state two additional seats and it would be justifiable if the Kaloji varsity and the TS government treat one seat as unreserved.

AA-G J. Ramachandra Rao, appearing for Kaloji varsity, submitted that after bifurcation, both the states have right to act independently as per Article 371(D) of the Constitution.

The bench was not inclined to agree with the argument of the AA-G and said that as per Section 95 of the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014, admissions has to provide for the students of combined state for 10 years in both the states.

While allowing the petition, the bench directed both the varsities accommodate the petitioner in one seat treating it as unreserved.