NEET-UG: Central govt staff’s children to get ‘local’ status for MBBS admissions, says court

The Telangana High Court has ruled that children of central government employees transferred outside the state will be considered local candidates for MBBS and BDS admissions. This decision came in response to a challenge by 18-year-old Kodimela Samhitha, who qualified NEET-UG 2026 and studied in Andhra Pradesh after her father, an ESIC employee, was transferred from Hyderabad to Tirupati.

The court stated that if exceptions can be made for government employees from other categories, there is no justifiable reason to exclude central government employees and their children from the same benefits. Samhitha, born in Hyderabad, qualified NEET with 385 marks and was admitted to a university in Andhra Pradesh after her father's transfer.

However, she was not considered a local candidate despite her education taking place outside Telangana due to her father's official transfer. The court directed the state to issue a clarification to include central government employees within the exception, pending a formal amendment.