Punjab and Haryana High Court nullifies NRI quota changes for MBBS admissions, original criteria stands

The Punjab and Haryana High Court today directed the State of Punjab to complete the MBBS admission process under the ‘NRI category’ in accordance with the “original and un-amended prospectus,” designed to benefit “genuine” NRIs.

The Division Bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Anil Kshetarpal also quashed a corrigendum and the addendum after asserting that the expansion of ‘NRI’ definition was arguably unjustified for “several reasons”.

The bench noted the initial purpose of the ‘NRI quota’ was to provide educational opportunities to “genuine” NRIs and their children, allowing them to access education opportunities in the country. “By broadening the definition to include distant relatives such as uncles, aunts, grandparents, and cousins, the core objective of NRI quota is undermined. This widening opens the door for potential misuse, allowing individuals who do not fall within the original intent of the policy to take advantage of these seats, potentially bypassing more deserving candidates,” the bench added.

The court asserted education was not a commercial activity but a welfare-oriented endeavour aimed at fostering an egalitarian and prosperous society to allow social transformation and upliftment of the nation.

“The doctrine of merit and fairness cannot be sacrificed only because the students falling in the expanded definition of NRI possess financial muscle. Capitation fee has totally been prohibited. If the admissions in the expanded NRI category to include non-genuine NRIs are permitted, the prohibition made on charge of capitation fee would serve no higher purpose as the state/private colleges would be at liberty to reap the benefits by amending the provisions according to their whims, which means accepting it by disguising the process,” the bench added.

The ruling came on a bunch of four petitions on admission to MBBS-2024 course under the 15 per cent quota reserved for NRIs within the state quota. The bench was told that the corrigendum dated August 20 was issued after the expiry of deadline for submission of applications for admission under the NRI category.

The bench asserted meritorious doctors were the need of the hour as they played a crucial role in developing the nation’s health. “The substitution of the expanded category of NRI cannot be made applicable to the applications which had already been submitted and the process of admission to the college had reached at an advance stage,” the court observed.

It added the subsequent change indicated that six private medical colleges in the state might have influenced the process to increase their financial gain. As such, the changes made after the admissions had commenced were not permissible in the eyes of law and principles of natural justice. Before parting with the matter, the bench asserted the new clause of the modified provision, permitting relatives to qualify as guardians simply by showing they had looked after the student, was vague and lacked “clear criteria”. It created room for manipulation, “where guardianship might be claimed merely for the sake of securing admission under this category”.