The Supreme Court has rejected the rule of giving reserved seats for postgraduate medical courses based on domicile. The court has called it a violation of Article 14 of the Constitution. This decision is important because it ensures that admission to PG medical courses under the state quota will be based only on merit, which will be determined by the marks of NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test).

A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy, Sudhanshu Dhulia, and SVN Bhatti said that all citizens of India have the right to live anywhere and apply for admission in educational institutions across the country.

What the Supreme Court said

The court said, "We are all residents of India. There is no separate state residency. Every Indian citizen has the right to live and choose a profession anywhere in the country." The Constitution allows every citizen to apply for admission to educational institutions anywhere in India. The court said that while states can give reservations to their residents in undergraduate courses. It should not be applied to higher studies like post graduation medical courses. Expert doctors are important for the country, so giving reservations on the basis of residence at this level would violate Article 14 of the Constitution.

The court clarified that its decision will have no effect on students who already get residence-based reservation or who have completed their degree under this system. The case started in 2019 when the Punjab and Haryana High Court ruled that residence-based reservation for PG medical courses was unconstitutional. When the matter reached the Supreme Court, a two-judge bench agreed, but later felt that the issue was so important that it should be decided by a larger bench of three judges.

Disclaimer: This content has been sourced and edited from dnaindia. While we have made modifications for clarity and presentation.