Supreme Court Upholds High Court Ruling on NRI Quota in Punjab

The Supreme Court dismissed Punjab's appeal against a High Court ruling invalidating the expansion of the 'NRI quota' for admissions in medical and dental courses. The move to include distant relatives of NRIs was criticized as being fraudulent and disadvantageous to meritorious candidates. The apex court reaffirmed the original intent of the NRI quota.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed Punjab's appeal against a High Court's ruling that invalidated the state's decision to expand the definition of 'NRI quota' for admissions in undergraduate medical and dental courses. ''This fraud must come to an end now,'' the apex court bench, led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, observed.

On September 10, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had quashed the AAP-led government's August 20 move to include extended family members such as uncles, aunts, grandparents, and cousins of NRIs in the 15 percent admission quota for state medical colleges. The bench deemed it a ''money spinning machine'' that unfairly disadvantaged candidates with higher scores.

Chief Justice Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra condemned the expansion as fraudulent and inconsistent with the educational merit system. ''The so-called precedents must give way to the primacy of law,'' the bench stated, affirming the High Court's judgement and denouncing the NRI quota business as unfair and illegal.

(With inputs from agencies.)