Telangana cancels nine medical admissions over ST status, a warning on “state of origin”

Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences (KNRUHS), which runs Telangana's MBBS and BDS admissions, has cancelled the admissions of nine students who had taken seats under the Scheduled Tribe quota. The decision followed a letter from Telangana's Director of Tribal Welfare saying they were not eligible for ST reservation in the state. Some of the cancelled seats were in the state's best-known government colleges.

The numbers

• 37 candidates in total have been found ineligible for ST reservation in MBBS and BDS admissions.
• The seats of the nine cancelled students will go back into the third or mop-up phase, for eligible ST candidates.
• The 37 will be considered in the open category, subject to eligibility and merit.

Why they lost the benefit

The tribal welfare department relied on the Telangana High Court's order on the "state of origin" principle. Most of these families had moved from the Andhra Pradesh region to Telangana before the state was formed in 2014. The department's position is that if a family's roots trace back to Andhra Pradesh, moving to Hyderabad for work or study before 2014 does not make Telangana its state of origin for reservation. It also noted that the ten-year transition under the state reorganisation ended in 2024. In one case, a candidate with a certificate from a Telangana district was held not to belong to the traditional habitat of her community.

An earlier report from the same department had already cost 13 candidates from Karnataka and Maharashtra their ST seats in the state.

The lesson for every state

SC and ST status is state-specific. A certificate from one state does not automatically carry reservation in another, and a certificate issued where you live now may be tested against where your family comes from. If you are claiming a reserved seat outside your family's home state, in medical counselling or anywhere else, check the admitting state's rules before you lock choices. Losing a seat after joining is far worse than being told no at the start.

CareerBox News Desk, reporting on the admission cancellations made by Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences, Telangana. Official portal: knruhs.telangana.gov.in. Dates and eligibility change; confirm them on the official portal before you act.