The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that domicile-based reservations for postgraduate medical admissions under the state quota violate the right to equality under Article 14 of the Constitution. The bench, comprising Justices Hrishikesh Roy, Sudhanshu Dhulia, and SVN Bhatti, emphasized that admissions must be strictly merit-based. The court stated that while limited domicile-based reservations may be permissible at the undergraduate MBBS level, extending them to postgraduate courses is unconstitutional. However, the ruling will not impact reservations already granted under the residence-based category.
The judgment was delivered in response to a 2019 reference made by a two-judge bench regarding legal challenges to domicile reservations in postgraduate medical admissions. The issue arose from appeals against a Punjab and Haryana High Court ruling concerning admission policies at the Government Medical College and Hospital in Chandigarh. The High Court had declared certain provisions in the college’s prospectus, which provided for domicile-based reservations under the UT Chandigarh Pool, as invalid.
During Supreme Court proceedings, Senior Advocate Nidhesh Gupta, representing private respondents, argued that domicile-based reservations were unconstitutional, aligning with the High Court’s earlier judgment. The Supreme Court upheld this view, affirming that there is no concept of provincial domicile in India and that all citizens have an equal right to pursue education and trade across the country. The ruling reinforces the principle that postgraduate medical admissions should be determined solely on merit, without restrictions based on residency.
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