Chennai: As many as 20 applicants have been disqualified and barred from participating in medical counselling for three years after they were found to have submitted fake certificates for admission to medical courses in Tamil Nadu, State Health Minister Ma. Subramanian said.

Speaking after inaugurating the construction of a modern auditorium at Saidapet Boys' Higher Secondary School here, the minister said that of the 72,743 applications received for admission to government and private medical colleges, scrutiny revealed that seven applicants had submitted forged birth certificates, nine had submitted fake community certificates, and four had submitted fraudulent NRI embassy certificates.

"All 20 candidates have been disqualified, and a three-year ban has been imposed on their participation in the medical counselling process. Legal action will also be initiated against them," the minister said.

He added that the rank list for medical admissions will be released on July 25, while counselling will commence on July 30 in line with the Central government's schedule.

Meanwhile, 2,814 candidates were found ineligible for the rank list due to missing documents in their applications. These students have been given time until Thursday to re-upload the required documents.

The list of ineligible applicants has been made available on the official website https://tnmedicalselection.net.

Students can verify their application status using their application number and upload the necessary documents online, said Dr. Theranirajan, Director of Medical Education and Research.