‘Changing rules of game after admission process’: Telangana HC halts local quota in PG medical management seats

The dispute centred on the admission process for PG medical courses for the academic year 2025-26. The initial admission notification was issued on October 4. However, after the process had officially begun, the state government introduced an amendment via two government orders, dated November 3. This amendment significantly altered the composition of seats under the management quota sub-category-1.

Prior to the amendment, no reservation was provided in this management category. The new rule, however, mandated a division, allocating 85 per cent of these seats to “local candidates of Telangana” and leaving only 15 per cent as All-India Quota seats for candidates from across the country.

The senior counsel for the petitioners argued that this move was impermissible in the management quota for PG admissions in unaided educational institutions, citing the Supreme Court’s precedent in P A Inamdar v State of Maharashtra (2005) and the recent decision in Dr Tanvi BEHL v Shrey Goel (2025), which stressed higher merit and competency for PG courses.

The primary ground of challenge, however, was that the amendment violated the principle of fairness by changing the requirements after the selection process had commenced. The petitioners submitted that their chances of securing admission would be “seriously prejudiced” by the sudden allocation of 85 per cent of seats to local candidates.

Taking note of these arguments, the division bench delivered a strong observation, stating that “the impugned amendment amounts to changing the rules of the game after the admission process has begun”.

The final operative order makes it explicitly clear that the impugned rule “shall not be applicable to the present admission process to PG Medical Courses for the Academic Year 2025-26 in the Private, Un-Aided, Minority and Non-Minority Colleges in Management Quota Sub-Category-1”.

The court has allowed four weeks for the assistant government pleader for the State and the standing counsel for the university to file their respective counter-affidavits. The matter is scheduled for further hearing on January 19, 2026.