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: Children of Central Government Employees Get Local Status for MBBS Admission
In a significant ruling that bridges the gap between state and central government employees over medical admissions, the has directed that children of Central Government employees who studied outside the state due to their parent’s transfer be treated as local candidates for MBBS and BDS courses. The bench of Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice G.M. Mohiuddin issued the order while disposing of a writ petition filed by an 18-year-old NEET qualifier.
‘No Justifiable Reason’ for Exclusion
The dispute arose from , as amended by . While the rule carved out exceptions for children of state government employees, All India Services officers from the Telangana cadre, certain defence personnel, and employees of state government corporations, it conspicuously omitted children of Central Government employees and Central Government undertakings.
The petitioner, Kodimela Samhitha, had studied from Class 5 to intermediate in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, after her father — an employee — was transferred from Hyderabad in . Though she had a nativity certificate confirming her father’s roots in Telangana and that her education outside the state was due to his official transfer, she was denied solely because her parent worked for a central government corporation.
A Tale of Two Governments, One Hardship
Arguing before the High Court, counsel for the petitioner contended that the classification was . “There is no between children of state government employees and children of central government employees when the hardship caused by an official transfer is identical,” he submitted. The distinction, it was argued, had no with the aim of the exception — which is to protect students compelled to study outside Telangana not by choice but by the transferable nature of their parent’s job.
On the other hand, the Advocate General for the State, , acknowledged the merit of the challenge. He informed the court that the issue was under active consideration and that an appropriate clarification or amendment was likely to be issued.
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Observing that the rationale behind the exception applied equally to children of central government employees, the court refrained from adjudicating the of the provision at this stage. Instead, it adopted what it termed a “” to prevent to the petitioner and others similarly placed.
“If exceptions can be carved out for those categories, reflected in the aforesaid clauses of exceptions, then is no justifiable reason for excluding the Central Government employees posted outside of State of Telangana and their children from availing benefit of the said exception so carved out,” the court observed.
The Court’s Order
The High Court declared that, pending a formal amendment, the proviso to Rule 3(a)(iii) shall be read to include children of employees of the Central Government, Central Government Corporations, and Central Public Sector Undertakings who have served or are serving outside Telangana, on the same terms and conditions as applicable to children of state government employees.
Consequently, the court directed the to treat the petitioner as a local candidate for the MBBS/BDS admissions for the under the and permit her to participate in the ongoing counselling process. The State government was also asked to expedite the formal amendment to to incorporate these categories.
The order offers immediate relief to the petitioner and sets a precedent for dozens of similarly placed candidates whose educational path was disrupted by their parents’ central government postings.
