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In a far-reaching judgment on Wednesday, the Supreme Court ruled that domicile-based reservations in postgraduate (PG) medical courses are impermissible and declared them unconstitutional for violating Article 14 of the Constitution.
A three-judge bench comprising Justices Hrishikesh Roy, Sudhanshu Dhulia, and SVN Bhatti said that state quota seats must be filled based on merit in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) exam. The top court held that providing domicile residence-based reservations for admission to PG medical courses within the state quota is constitutionally impermissible. It stated, "Residence-based reservation in PG medical courses is violative of Article 14 of the Constitution." "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. We have the right to choose residence anywhere in India and to carry out trade and profession anywhere in the country. The Constitution also gives us the right to choose admission in educational institutions across India," said the top court while delivering the judgment. The apex court, while striking down domicile reservations for future admissions, clarified that the judgment will not affect the domicile reservation already granted to students. The verdict came on appeals filed by some students against a Punjab and Haryana High Court ruling that had struck down domicile reservations in PG medical admissions as unconstitutional. (ANI)
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