Karnataka High Court Grants Rs 10 Lakh Compensation to International Chess Player Sanjana Raghunath

The Karnataka High Court has ordered the state government to compensate Sanjana Raghunath, an international chess player, Rs 10 lakh after she was wrongly denied an MBBS seat under the sports quota. Misclassified in a lower sports category, she paid Rs 11 lakh for a private medical college seat.

In a significant ruling, the Karnataka High Court has mandated the state government to compensate international chess player Sanjana Raghunath with Rs 10 lakh. The decision comes after Sanjana was unjustly denied an MBBS seat under the sports quota, despite being eligible.

Sanjana, a Bengaluru native and participant in the 2018 Asia Youth Chess Championship, was mistakenly placed in the P-5 category of the sports quota instead of the more prestigious P-1 category. This misclassification violated established rules, according to her legal counsel.

The bench, led by Chief Justice N V Anjaria and Justice K V Arvind, found that the Karnataka Examinations Authority's circular issued in June 2023, which placed Sanjana in the P-5 category, was against the rules set in 2009. Consequently, Sanjana had to pay around Rs 11 lakh for a seat in a private medical college. Highlighting the financial and career loss suffered, the court directed the state government to pay the compensation within six weeks.

(With inputs from agencies.)