SC Ends Domicile Quota for PG Medical Courses

The Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down domicile-based reservations in admissions to postgraduate (PG) medical courses, declaring them unconstitutional and violative of the fundamental right to equality — a precedent-setting order that will rewrite the contours of postgraduate medical education in India, with prospective effect.

- Utkarsh Anand

NEW DELHI:

While addressing the constitutional validity of residence-based reservations, the bench comprising justices Hrishikesh Roy, Sudhanshu Dhulia and SVN Bhatti, held that such policies run counter to the principles of citizenship and equality enshrined in the Constitution.

"Why residence-based reservation is impermissible is for the reason that such reservation runs counter to the idea of citizenship and equality under the Constitution... We are all domiciled in the territory of India. We are all residents of India," declared the judgment.

The three-judge bench's ruling comes as a landmark precedent for uniformity in medical education, reinforcing that all Indian citizens share a single domicile — "the domicile of India" — and that any attempt to impose state-specific residency requirements for higher education is legally impermissible.

It further 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). States and Union territories with similar policies will now have to reconsider their admission criteria in light of this ruling, ensuring compliance with constitutional principles of equality.