The Supreme Court of India has struck down the practice of granting reservations for postgraduate (PG) medical course admissions based on domicile or residence. The court ruled that such reservations violate Article 14 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees the right to equality. The three-judge bench, comprising Justices Hrishikesh Roy, Sudhanshu Dhulia, and SVN Bhatti, emphasized that admissions should be based solely on merit.
The Supreme Court held that India has a unified domicile status, and there is no basis for provincial domicile distinctions.
While domicile-based reservations may be permissible for undergraduate (MBBS) admissions, extending them to PG medical courses is discriminatory.
The court observed, “We are all domiciled in India, and there is no provincial domicile. This gives us the right to pursue education across the country. Reservation in higher education based on residence violates Article 14.”
The judgment will not affect reservations already granted under domicile-based categories before this ruling. The case originated from appeals challenging a Punjab and Haryana High Court decision, which had struck down domicile-based reservations in PG medical admissions at Government Medical College and Hospital, Chandigarh. The High Court had ruled that certain provisions in the Chandigarh UT Pool prospectus were unconstitutional.
Senior Advocate Nidhesh Gupta, representing private respondents, argued that domicile-based reservations were impermissible. The Supreme Court upheld this stance, reinforcing the principle of merit-based admissions in postgraduate medical education.
This landmark decision is expected to impact state admission policies and could lead to a re-evaluation of reservation norms in medical education across India.
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