Sulam Mani Suraj (Minor) v. The State Of Telangana
IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATE OF TELANGANA
AT HYDERABAD THE HONOURABLE SMT. JUSTICE JUVVADI SRIDEVI WRIT PETITION No.19918 of 2026 DATED: 25TH JUNE, 2026 Between:
Sulam Mani Suraj (Minor) rep by his mother Sulam Sireesha
...Petitioner
AND The State of Telangana and three others
...Respondents
O R D E R:
This Writ Petition is filed by the petitioner seeking the following relief:
"to issue a writ order or direction more particularly one in the nature of a Writ of Mandamus directing the Respondents to receive and accept the Petitioners Disability Certificate and to consider his application under the Physically Challenged PH Category for all purposes of admission into Engineering Courses through TG EAPCET 2026 and pass"
02.
Heard Sri J. Abhishek, learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned Assistant Government Pleader for Higher Education for the respondents. Perused the record. 03(a). Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner was born on 06.07.2008 with "Foot Drop" affecting his
right leg, which is a locomotor disability that causes paralysis or significant weakness of the muscles responsible for lifting the foot and he has faced several difficulties in his day-to-day life. The petitioner is a hardworking and aspires to become an Engineer, as such he registered for TGEAPCET for admission into Engineering courses under Open Category as he did not possess disability certificate at the time of making application. 03(b). It is further submitted that thereafter, the petitioner applied for issuance of disability certificate before competent authority and during the pendency of issuance of such disability certificate, he appeared for TGEAPCET examination on 09.05.2026 and results were declared on 17.05.2026 and he secured a rank of 103513. The competent authority had issued disability certificate on 05.06.2026 assessing the disability as 53% and recognized as Locomotor Disability. Therefore, he is entitled to claim benefit under the Physically Challenged (PH) Category.
03(c). It is further submitted that the counseling for admission into Engineering courses has commenced and his slot for certificate verification is on 29.06.2026. Hence, he prayed for a direction to the respondent Nos.2 to 4 to receive and accept the
petitioner's disability certificate and consider his application under the physically challenged (PH) Category for all purposes of admission into Engineering Courses through TGEAPCET, 2026. 04.
On the other hand, learned counsel appearing for the respondents opposed the submissions made on behalf of the petitioner and contended that the petitioner was required to upload and submit the Disability Certificate at the time of submitting the online application itself. Having failed to do so, the petitioner cannot, at the stage of counselling and certificate verification, seek to claim the benefit of reservation under the Physically Challenged (PH) Category on the strength of a subsequently issued Disability Certificate. It is, therefore, contended that the petitioner is not entitled to the relief sought in the writ petition, and accordingly prayed for dismissal of the same.
05.
Having heard the learned counsel for the parties and upon perusal of the material available on record, the undisputed facts reveal that the petitioner, who is suffering from "Foot Drop" affecting his right lower limb, had applied for admission into Engineering Courses through TG EAPCET-2026. At the time of submitting the online application, the petitioner did not possess a
Disability Certificate issued by the competent Medical Board and, therefore, submitted his application under the Open Category. It is the specific case of the petitioner that he had already initiated the process for obtaining the Disability Certificate before the competent authority and, during the pendency of such process, appeared for the TG EAPCET examination conducted on 09.05.2026. The results were declared on 17.05.2026, wherein the petitioner secured Rank No.103513. Thereafter, the competent authority issued a Disability Certificate dated 05.06.2026 certifying that the petitioner is suffering from 53% permanent Locomotor Disability.
06.
The grievance of the petitioner is that although he is now in possession of a valid Disability Certificate issued by the competent authority well before the process of certificate verification and counselling, the respondents are refusing to receive and consider the same solely on the ground that the certificate was not uploaded at the time of submission of the online application.
07.
The object of providing reservation for persons with benchmark disabilities is to ensure equal opportunity and meaningful participation in the process of education. Such
beneficial provisions deserve to receive a liberal and purposive interpretation so long as no prejudice is caused to the admission process or to the rights of other eligible candidates. In the present case, the Disability Certificate was admittedly issued before the petitioner's scheduled certificate verification and counselling. Therefore, consideration of such certificate at the stage of certificate verification cannot, by itself, be said to prejudice the admission process, particularly when the genuineness of the certificate is not under challenge and the competent authority has certified the petitioner as having 53% locomotor disability. 08.
In view of the above, this Court is not inclined to express any opinion on the petitioner's ultimate entitlement to reservation under the Physically Challenged (PH) Category, as the same falls within the domain of the competent authorities, who are required to verify the certificate and determine the petitioner's eligibility in accordance with the applicable rules, regulations and admission guidelines governing TGEAPCET2026. 09.
Accordingly, without expressing any opinion on the merits of the petitioner's claim for reservation under the Physically Challenged (PH) Category, this Writ Petition is disposed of
directing the respondent Nos.2 to 4 to receive the Disability Certificate dated 05.06.2026 submitted by the petitioner, verify its genuineness and validity, and consider the petitioner's claim for admission under the Physically Challenged (PH) Category, in accordance with law and the applicable rules governing admissions through TGEAPCET-2026, if the petitioner is otherwise eligible. Such exercise shall be completed as expeditiously as possible, preferably before the petitioner participates in the counselling process. It is made clear that this Court has not expressed any opinion on the petitioner's entitlement to admission under the Physically Challenged (PH) Category, and it is for the competent authority to take an appropriate decision in accordance with law. There shall be no order as to costs.
As a sequel, the miscellaneous applications, if any, shall stand closed.
__________________ JUVVADI SRIDEVI, J Date: 25-JUN-2026 Note:
Issue CC Today.
Registry is directed to communicate this Order to the respondent Nos.2 to 4 for compliance. B/o. Ksk