The Supreme Court on Tuesday strongly criticised the government’s practice of providing for NRI reservation in MBBS and dental undergraduate admissions through a non-resident Indian quota.
The court described this profit-driven scheme for medical colleges as a “fraud” that must be terminated.
“Let us put a lid on it. This NRI business is nothing but a fraud. We will put an end to all this. Now, the so-called precedent must give way to the primacy of law,” a bench of Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra orally observed while dismissing an appeal filed by the Punjab government challenging a high court judgment of September 10 quashing the new rule introduced by the state.
Under the rules that came into form on August 20, the Punjab government had extended the definition of “NRI” to include distant relatives such as “uncles, aunts, grandparents” whose wards can be considered for admission to medical courses in the state.
“Look at the deleterious consequences, the meritorious candidates who have three times higher marks, will lose their admissions,” the bench remarked, pointing to the incongruity of the rule that permitted NRI candidates to get admission even if they scored less than the meritorious candidates.
In other words, the distant relatives of the NRIs settled abroad will get admission in Indian colleges under the quota by paying a higher fee at the cost of meritorious Indian students.
In most states, including Punjab, 15 per cent of the medical seats are reserved for NRI candidates and they fetch a premium fee for the colleges. The AAP government’s decision to expand the definition of NRIs to include distant relatives was challenged by a few medical aspirants after which the high court quashed the amended rules, prompting the state to rush to the top court.
CJI Chandrachud told senior advocate Shadan Farasat appearing for the state: “This (new rule) is a complete fraud and this is what we are doing with our education system. We must stop this NRI quota business.”
