Students who joined an MBBS seat in Telangana under the Competent Authority Quota and now want to leave it have until 2 PM on Thursday, 8 October 2026, to walk out without paying a penalty.
Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences (KNRUHS) announced the deadline in a free exit notification dated 5 October 2026, signed by the university's Registrar. It applies to all candidates admitted to MBBS up to the second phase of Competent Authority Quota counselling for 2026-27 in medical colleges affiliated to KNRUHS.
The Competent Authority Quota is the convener quota of state seats that KNRUHS fills on behalf of the Telangana government. Free exit means a student can discontinue the course by applying to the principal of the college, and get back both the original certificates and the full fee paid.
What the notification says
The last time for free exit is 2 PM on 8 October 2026. Candidates are allowed to discontinue the admitted MBBS course on application to the principal, without penalty, up to that time.
After 2 PM on 8 October, the penalty clause in the state government's orders will apply to anyone who discontinues. The notification does not repeat the penalty amount, so students thinking of leaving later should read the government order through their college before they decide.
The university has also given principals a deadline. They must return all original certificates and the entire fee to candidates who opt for free exit immediately, and upload the details on the admission portal by 2:30 PM on 8 October without fail.
The catch
A student who takes the free exit loses the state route for this year. The notification says candidates who discontinue will not be eligible for further rounds of counselling under the Competent Authority Quota for MBBS in 2026-27.
That makes the free exit useful mainly for a small group: those who already hold a better seat elsewhere, for example through All India Quota counselling, a central institution or another state's merit list, and who need their original documents back to join it. It is not a way to drop the current seat and wait for a better state seat in a later round.
Students should be sure of the other seat before they leave. Get the allotment letter or admission confirmation from the other institution in writing first, and check its own reporting deadline, because once the KNRUHS seat is given up there is no way back into the convener quota this year.
Why the timing matters
Free exit windows usually open when one round of counselling is about to give way to the next, so that seats given up can be offered again. The all-India rounds have been moving at the same time. MCC posted its final Round 3 result last week, reported in MCC's NEET UG Round 3 final allotment and reporting dates, and its schedule leads into the stray vacancy round set out in our guide to the NEET UG 2026 stray vacancy round.
A student who has taken an All India Quota seat in a later round and is still sitting on a Telangana convener seat needs to clear one of them. Holding both blocks a seat for someone further down the list, and the free exit is the cleanest way to release the state seat.
KNRUHS has also been running other windows this month, including the reopened B.Sc Nursing Competent Authority Quota registration.
Steps for students who want to leave
Write to the principal of your college, in the format the college asks for, and say clearly that you are opting for free exit under the KNRUHS notification of 5 October. Ask for a receipt with the date and time.
Collect all original certificates and confirm how and when the fee will be refunded. Then check that your name has been uploaded on the admission portal. If the college has not acted by the afternoon of 8 October, raise it with KNRUHS directly through the contacts on its website, since the 2 PM time limit will not wait for a delayed upload.
