SC grants big relief to medical students; strikes down domicile-based reservation in PG medical admissions
STC NEWS MONITORING DESK
New Delhi, January 29 (STC): In A big relief to students of medical studies, the Supreme Court (SC) today held domicile-based reservations in postgraduate (PG) medical courses impermissible and declared them unconstitutional for violating Article 14 of the Constitution.
By virtue of this decision, the court provided relief to students who are currently enrolled or have already completed their PG medical education under such schemes.
Remarkably, the domicile reservation already granted will not be affected by this judgment. “Students who are undergoing PG courses and those who have already passed out from such residence category will not be affected,” reads the judgement.
According to the reports quoting the SC judgment, it sets a crucial precedent, effectively mandating that PG medical admissions under state quotas must be determined solely on merit in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).
“Residence-based reservation in PG medical courses is clearly violative of Article 14 of the Constitution,” pronounced a three-judge bench comprising justices Hrishikesh Roy, Sudhanshu Dhulia and SVN Bhatti.
The bench unequivocally ruled that state-imposed domicile requirements for admission to PG medical programmes contravene the constitutional guarantee of equality and cannot be sustained.
“We are all domiciles in the territory of India. There is nothing like a provincial or state domicile. There is only one domicile. We are all residents of India,” the bench stated, underscoring that Article 19 of the Constitution grants every citizen the right to reside, trade, and pursue a profession anywhere in the country.
While acknowledging that some degree of domicile-based reservation may be permissible in undergraduate (MBBS) admissions, the bench categorically held that extending such policies to PG medical programs, where specialisation and expertise are critical, would be unconstitutional. (STC)
