HYDERABAD: A division bench of the Telangana High Court led by Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice NV Sravan Kumar directed the revenue inspector and the tahsildar of Alampur mandal in Jogulamba Gadwal district to appear before the court on December 4.
The summons comes in response to allegations of issuing a false residential certificate to Singotam Vennela, an aspiring MBBS/BDS student, who sought admission into Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences (KNRUHS).
Vennela challenged the rejection of her MBBS admission in KNRUHS by filing a writ petition. She resided in Andhra Pradesh for almost 12 years and the university had rejected her plea on the grounds that she is not a local of Telangana. Vennela contested that she should be considered as a local because her parents reside in Telangana. In a prior hearing, the petition was closed, with the ruling being in favour of the university. However, the court found a glaring irregularity – officials had issued a residential certificate stating that Vennela had been residing in Telangana for 18 years.
The chief justice expressed serious doubts about the authenticity of the certificate, prompting him to issue a summons. Alok Aradhe had previously issued a bailable warrant against Tahsildar R Manjula for non-compliance with court directives and failing to appear on the last hearing date. During the latest hearing on Friday, Manjula revealed that she had issued the disputed residential certificate to Vennela based on a report submitted by the revenue inspector.
Expressing deep concern over what he called a “lethargic attitude” by officials, Chief Justice Alok Aradhe criticised the haste with which the residential certificate was issued. Vennela’s certificate claimed she had been a resident of Door No. 23-43, Alampur, Jogulamba Gadwal district for the past 18 years. However, Vennela contested this, asserting that she had completed her studies from Class 1 to 10 in the Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh and had passed the intermediate examination in the Krishna district.
During the proceedings, the chief justice remarked, “The officials can hurriedly do anything and say, ‘I have signed on the certificates due to rush of work.’