Bengaluru: A Bengaluru-based chess player has been compensated of rs.10 lakh by the Karnataka High Court for being wrongfully denied a sports quota seat in a prestigious MBBS college. The court ruled that the denial was “arbitrary and unjust” and directed the state government to pay the compensation money to the chess player.Reportedly, Sanjana Raghunath, an international chess player from Bengaluru was a participant in the 2018 Asia Youth Chess Championship. As per her legal counsel the player had applied for admission to the MBBS college under the sports quota, but her application was rejected due to an error in documentation. And for that reason the player was denied the seat under the sports quota. she was by mistakenly placed in the P-5 category. She was supposed to be placed in the more prestigious P-1 category. Later she filed a petition in the court regarding to this.The single-judge bench of the high court found that the state government’s negligence had resulted in the player’s loss. She can not take admission in the same academic year or a future one under the government quota. She had to pay approximately Rs 11 lakh for a seat in a private medical college under the management quota due to the mistake.The court directed the state government to pay Rs 10 lakh within six weeks as compensation for the loss of opportunity the MBBS collage despite being eligible.As a result, Sanjana will receive Rs 10 lakh in compensation for the mistake done by the Karnataka Examinations Authority.As per sources, Sanjana has represented India in multiple national and international chess tournaments, including winning a gold medal at a FIDE Chess Championship.
