BENGALURU: Karnataka high court has ordered authorities to enrol national-level swimmer Siri Srikanth in an MBBS course after she was illegally denied admission for the 2022-23 session.
Srikanth had appeared for CET and NEET examinations, securing the 24th position among 618 candidates qualified for MBBS admission under the sports quota. The list was revised in Oct 2022 and Srikanth was ranked 29, but she was denied admission.Instead, Sathwik Shivanand, a state-level chess player initially ranked 117th and then 129th in the revised list, was admitted along with SR Pranitha, whose name was not there in the list.
Due to several disputes, candidates litigated the matter, resulting in a revised list per the direction of Supreme Court. Again, Srikanth was overlooked for admission. State govt recommended her admissions for the academic year 2024-25.
Armed with recommendation, Srikanth moved HC. Both state govt and Karnataka Examination Authority argued the recommendation was based on Karnataka Selection of Candidates for Admission to Govt Seats in Professional Educational Institutions Rules, 2006. But National Medical Council said the petitioner cannot be accommodated in 2024-25 session.
A division bench comprising chief justice NV Anjaria and justice KV Aravind then came to Srikanth’s rescue, stressing that the selection of Sathwik Shivanand instead of Srikanth who secured national-level silver and bronze medals was unjustified.
Srikanth had appeared for CET and NEET examinations, securing the 24th position among 618 candidates qualified for MBBS admission under the sports quota. The list was revised in Oct 2022 and Srikanth was ranked 29, but she was denied admission.Instead, Sathwik Shivanand, a state-level chess player initially ranked 117th and then 129th in the revised list, was admitted along with SR Pranitha, whose name was not there in the list.
Due to several disputes, candidates litigated the matter, resulting in a revised list per the direction of Supreme Court. Again, Srikanth was overlooked for admission. State govt recommended her admissions for the academic year 2024-25.
Armed with recommendation, Srikanth moved HC. Both state govt and Karnataka Examination Authority argued the recommendation was based on Karnataka Selection of Candidates for Admission to Govt Seats in Professional Educational Institutions Rules, 2006. But National Medical Council said the petitioner cannot be accommodated in 2024-25 session.
A division bench comprising chief justice NV Anjaria and justice KV Aravind then came to Srikanth’s rescue, stressing that the selection of Sathwik Shivanand instead of Srikanth who secured national-level silver and bronze medals was unjustified.