HC directs KNRUHS to allow Lambada student to participate in NEET-UG 2nd phase counselling | Hyderabad News

Hyderabad: Telangana high court has directed Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences (KNRUHS), Warangal, to allow NEET aspirant Chawan Aarthi to participate in the second round of NEET-UG 2026-27 counselling as a local candidate, subject to the final outcome of her writ petition.A division bench, comprising Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice GM Mohiuddin, passed the interim order on Sunday while hearing a house motion petition through virtual mode. Aarthi, a student from Vikarabad, approached the court challenging her exclusion from the Scheduled Tribe (ST) quota in Telangana after the university listed her among candidates not entitled to the state ST reservation.Her counsel Prabhakar Chikkudu submitted that Aarthi’s parents had been issued community certificates by the tahsildar, Vikarabad mandal, recognising them as belonging to the Lambadis, an ST community in Telangana. Her residence certificate and educational records also showed her parentage and local status.KNRUHS standing counsel T Sharath, however, pointed to Aarthi’s Aug 27 letter stating that she did not want to claim Telangana ST benefits as her caste was recognised under the Scheduled Caste category in Karnataka.The bench observed that, prima facie, the certificates and records warranted allowing her to participate in the ongoing counselling rather than denying her local status at this stage, and directed KNRUHS to permit her to participate and listed the matter for Sept 30 for further hearing.