IMPORTANT POINT
Local candidate status is determined solely by the candidate's residence and study duration in the state, not by parental domicile.

JUDGMENT :

(per Hon’ble Sri Justice R.Raghunandan Rao)

Heard Smt. Nimmagadda Revathi, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner and Sri Guttpalem Vijaya Kumar, learned Standing Counsel for NTR Health University.

2. The parents of the petitioner are from Krishna District. Both her father and mother had completed their entire education within the State of Andhra Pradesh and were residents of the State of Andhra Pradesh. The father of the petitioner, on account of his employment in the Ministry of Defense, had to serve outside the State of Andhra Pradesh. On account of this reason, the petitioner pursued her education outside Andhra Pradesh from her primary schooling till the qualifying examination, for the purpose of admission into MBBS and BDS courses.

3. The petitioner appeared for UG NEET Examination-2024 and sought admission into MBBS and BDS courses under Competent Authority (Convenor) Quota for the academic year 2024-25 claiming admission in the 85% State Quota under the relevant Regulation of the notification for such admissions. However, the petitioner was unable to obtain local candidate status and completed her registration in the NEET portal under the category of Non-Local-APNL with AP Domicile.

4. The petitioner being aggrieved by the refusal of the respondent authorities, in treating her as a local candidate, for the purpose of admission, has filed the present writ petition.

5. The petitioner contends that she would have to be treated as a local candidate, as per the conditions in the notification, which are a replica of the Presidential Order, 1974. The stand of the petitioner is that even the students, who have studied outside the State of Andhra Pradesh, would be entitled to be recognized as local candidates, on the basis of the domicile and the residence of the parents of such candidate. The petitioner relies upon the judgment of a Division Bench of the erstwhile High Court of Andhra Pradesh, reported in The Tahsildar, Hyderabad Urban Taluk, Hyderabad and Anr., vs. T. Venkata Reddy, AIR 1976 AP 408.

6. The petitioner has also relied upon the judgments of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India, reported in Meenakshi Malik vs. University of Delhi and Ors., (1989) 3 SCC 112 to contend that her period of stay outside the State of Andhra Pradesh, on account of their father’s employment, should be treated as local study and that she should be treated as a local candidate.

7. The aforesaid judgment would not be applicable to the facts of this case, as the Presidential Order, 1974 was not available to the authorities in those cases.

8. In view of certain peculiar developments in the erstwhile State of Andhra Pradesh, Article 371-D of the Constitution of India was introduced in 1974, to provide for equitable opportunities and facilities for the people belonging to different parts of the State. For this purpose the President of India was empowered to take necessary steps, by order, for such equitable distribution of opportunities, in the matters of employment and education. In exercise of this power, conferred on the President of India, the Andhra Pradesh Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admissions) Order, 1974, generally known as the Presidential Order, 1974, was issued. Under this order, the State was divided into various local areas and 85% of the seats in Educational Institutions and Public Employment at certain levels were reserved for local candidates of the said local areas. The order also specified the conditions under which a person would be declared to be a local candidate in a local area. Paragraph 4 of the Presidential Order, which reads as follows, set out these conditions:

“4. Local Candidates:- 1) A candidate for admission to any course of study shall be regarded as a local candidate in relation to a local area –

(a) If he has studied in an educational institution or educational institutions in such local area for a period of not less than four consecutive academic years ending with the academic year in which he