Andhra Pradesh: The Andhra Pradesh High Court has directed Dr. NTR University of Health Sciences to pay ₹7 lakh in compensation to a medical aspirant who was wrongfully denied an MBBS seat due to improper seat allocation by the university.
AP High Court Ruling: ₹7 Lakh Compensation for MBBS Seat Misallocation
A division bench, comprising Chief Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur and Justice R. Raghunandan Rao, heard the case concerning the wrongful denial of a medical seat under the NCC quota.
The court was hearing a writ petition filed by Revuru Venkata Asritha, who had appeared for NEET (UG-2022) and sought admission under the NCC Female Open Category. The petitioner, holding a B-Certificate with Grade-A in the Naval Unit NCC, contended that a candidate with lower merit was wrongfully allotted a seat at Narayana Medical College.
The university argued that the seat was properly allocated to a BC-D category candidate following the sliding of another BC-D candidate, Ms. Jakkala Jahnavi, from Narayana Medical College to SV Medical College. However, the court found that the university failed to provide any evidence showing that Ms. Jahnavi had ever been allotted a seat at Narayana Medical College.
Medical Seat Dispute: Andhra Pradesh HC Holds University Accountable
Observing the lack of supporting documentation, the court stated, “The second respondent, despite being granted multiple adjournments, has not produced any material or document to show that Ms. Jakkala Jahnavi was allotted a seat at Narayana Medical College or that she had joined Narayana Medical College before moving to S.V. Medical College.”
The court concluded that the allotment of the seat to the fourth respondent, who had a lower merit rank, without considering the petitioner’s claim, was illegal. While acknowledging that the petitioner would have been entitled to a medical seat in the 2022 academic session, the court noted that accommodating her was no longer possible, as more than two academic years had elapsed.
As a result, the court directed the university to pay ₹7 lakh in compensation within two months from the date of receipt of the order. Additionally, the university was ordered to pay ₹25,000 as litigation costs to the petitioner within two weeks.
Mr. G. Priyanka, representing Mr. V.V. Satish, appeared for the petitioner, while Mrs. Tata Venkata Sridevi, standing counsel for Dr. NTR University of Health Sciences, represented the respondents.
Case Title: Revuru Venkata Asritha v. State of Andhra Pradesh & Ors.
