The Telangana High Court has turned down a plea by a minor NCC cadet who wanted grace marks for his NCC 'A' Certificate added to his NEET-UG score. A bench of Justice P. Sam Koshy and Justice Narsing Rao Nandikonda held that the state government's decision to leave out 'A' certificate holders from its grace marks scheme was neither arbitrary nor discriminatory.
Background
The petitioner, Chatla Susheel Kumar, approached the court through his father as he is a minor. He challenged part of a 2023 government order, G.O.Ms.No.75, which had reshaped how NCC cadets get benefits during MBBS and BDS admissions in Telangana.
Until the 2024-25 academic year, NCC cadets enjoyed a 1% horizontal reservation in seats. That changed with G.O.Ms.No.75. In its place came a system of grace marks — 7% for those who attended the Republic Day Camp, 5% for Thal Sainik Camp or Vayu Sainik Camp participants, and 3% for NCC 'B' Certificate holders. Certificate 'A' holders found no mention in this list at all.
The petitioner's counsel argued that NCC training is largely similar across levels, and the only real difference lies in the stage of schooling at which a cadet holds a certificate. Leaving out 'A' certificate holders, he said, amounted to unreasonable classification under Article 14. He leaned on the Supreme Court's ruling in Deepak Sibal vs. Punjab University to make his case.
The state, on the other hand, pointed to an earlier Division Bench ruling from November 2025 in Silamkoti Yanjleena vs. State of Telangana, where an identical challenge to the same government order was dismissed.
The bench noted that NCC Certificate 'A' is meant for students up to Class X, while Certificate 'B' is given to those who go on to complete two more years of schooling - the same Class X-plus-two benchmark that NEET itself requires. The court observed that this difference in eligibility level offered a rational basis for treating the two groups differently, stating that this was "a reasonable classification which can be drawn by the policy-makers."
Referring to the Deepak Sibal precedent cited by the petitioner, the bench recalled the two-part test for a valid classification under Article 14 - that it must rest on an intelligible differentia, and that "the differentia must have a rational nexus to the object sought to be achieved."
The judges also endorsed the reasoning of the earlier Division Bench, which had found that the shift from reservation to grace marks was meant to spread the benefit across a wider group of NCC cadets, rather than confining it to a small number of reserved seats.
Finding no constitutional or legal flaw in the government's classification, the High Court dismissed the writ petition. No costs were awarded.
Case Details
- Case Title: Chatla Susheel Kumar vs. State of Telangana & Others
- Case Number: Writ Petition No. 28320 of 2026
- Judge: Justice P. Sam Koshy and Justice Narsing Rao Nandikonda
- Decision Date: 01.09.2026
