HC directs Telangana govt, Centre, NMC to provide reservation to transgender students for NEET PG admission 2023

The Telangana High Court has directed the Centre, state government, and National Medical Commission to grant an applicant seeking admission to post-graduate (PG) medical programmes in 2023 reservation under the transgender quota. The court passed the order on a petition filed by Dr. Koyyala Ruth John Paul, a transgender woman who belongs to the Scheduled Caste.

During the hearing, a division bench of Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice N Tukaramji said the decision should be taken in a manner that is beneficial to the petitioner. 

"...as and when counselling commences for NEET PG 2023, respondents, more particularly respondent No.6 (Medical Counselling Commission of Telangana), shall extend the benefit of third gender status in addition to the petitioner’s status as a “Scheduled Caste” candidate while considering admission in any of the courses either under the central quota or under the State quota for NEET PG 2023 in a manner which is beneficial to the petitioner," the bench said in its order on Tuesday.

Citing a Supreme Court judgment, the counsel said not only are members of the transgender



community required to be treated as a third gender, but a direction has been issued by the apex court to the central and the state governments to take steps to treat them as socially and educationally backward classes of citizens and extend all kinds of reservation in case of admission to educational institutions and for public appointments.

Earlier, the petitioner had taken the PG NEET 2022 and obtained 261 out of 800 marks. Paul was categorized as "female" despite having registered as the third gender during the counseling session for both All India and State Quota seats that were held in November 2022.

In order to receive the advantage of the reservation as a transgender person for Post Graduate Medical Admission in Telangana State, the petitioner subsequently made representations to the Centre, state government, National Medical Commission, and others, the counsel added. The petitioner went to court because the representations were not taken into account.

Paul is one of two transgender people from Telangana who made history last year by becoming the state's first transgender doctors to work for the government.