The Telangana High Court directed the State government to file a counter affidavit in a writ petition filed by a BDS degree holder questioning the decision of Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences, treating him as non-local candidate.
The 27-year-old petitioner, Voni Sahith, belonging to a scheduled tribe and hailing from Kashibugga of Warangal district, said in his plea that health university authorities treated him as a non-local candidate for admission to the MDS course for 2026-27 academic year. The Advocate General A. Sudarshan Reddy informed the HC that a co-ordinate bench of the HC in a batch of writ petitions held that ‘only those who had completed MBBS/BAMS/BHMS from ‘local area’ as defined in the Presidential Order 1974 were entitled for admissions into PG medical courses for academic year 2025-25.
The AG maintained that the petitioner, who had been granted a scholarship by the Telangana government to study BDS course in a medical college in Andhra Pradesh, cannot be treated as a local candidate. “Otherwise, the whole purpose of defining local category criteria would be defeated in terms of the Presidential Order,” the AG said, presenting his contentions.
The petitioner’s counsel, A. Diwakar Reddy, contended that the HC’s coordinate bench order related to medical admissions in Telangana Dental Colleges, including MDS courses. The criteria was challenged in the present petition, he argued. On hearing contentions of both the parties, the bench directed the State government to file a counter affidavit in two weeks.
Published – September 25, 2026 09:46 pm IST
