Domicile-based quota in PG medical admission unconstitutional: SC

Holding that it violated the right to equality under Article 14 of the Constitution, the Supreme Court on Wednesday declared domicile-based reservation for admissions to postgraduate medical courses within the state quota.

“The benefit of ‘reservation’ in educational institutions including medical colleges to those who reside in a particular state can be given to a certain degree only in MBBS courses, for which we have assigned reasons in the preceding paragraphs. But considering the importance of specialists doctors in PG Medical Course, reservation at the higher level on the basis of ‘residence’ would be violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India,” a three-judge Bench of Justice Hrishikesh Roy, Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice SVN Bhatti said.

Having declared that residence-based reservation was impermissible in PG medical courses, the top court said, “…the state quota seats, apart from a reasonable number of institution-based reservations, have to be filled strictly on the basis of merit in the All-India examination.”

Writing the judgment for the Bench, Justice Dhulia said, “We are all domiciled in the territory of India. We are all residents of India. Our common bond as citizens and residents of one country gives us the right not only to choose our residence anywhere in India, but also gives us the right to carry on trade and business or a profession anywhere in India. It also gives us the right to seek admission in educational institutions across India.”

The top court said, “If such a reservation is permitted then it would be an invasion of the fundamental rights of several students, who are being treated unequally simply for the reasons that they belong to a different state in the Union! This would be a violation of the equality clause in Article 14 of the Constitution and would amount to a denial of equality before the law.”

However, the Bench clarified that its verdict would not affect the students who were pursuing PG courses or have already completed such a course after securing admission under domicile reservation.

“We make it clear though that our declaration of impermissibility of residence-based reservation in PG Medical courses will not affect such reservations already granted, and students are undergoing PG courses or have already passed out in the present case, from Government Medical College, Chandigarh.

“We do this simply because now there is equity in favour of such students who must have already completed the course. Logically, therefore, the present appellants who were granted admission under the residence category and were undergoing their course, and also by virtue of the interim order of this court dated May 9, 2019, will not be affected by our judgment,” it said.

The verdict came on appeals against a Punjab and Haryana High Court judgment striking down residence-based reservation in PG medical courses in Government Medical College, Chandigarh. In 2019, a two-judge Bench of the Supreme Court had referred the issue to a larger Bench.

On Wednesday, the three-judge Bench said that out of 64 seats which were to be filled by the state in its quota 32 could have been filled on the basis of institutional preference, and these were valid. But the other 32 seats earmarked as UT Chandigarh pool were wrongly filled on the basis of residence, it said, upholding the findings of the high court on this aspect.