- By Nidhi Giri
- Wed, 29 Jan 2025 01:05 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
The Supreme Court on Wednesday held that domicile-based reservations of seats for postgraduate medical courses cannot be allowed as violates Article 14 of the Constitution. The ruling means that the admission to PG medical courses - under quotas allotted to various states - can only be on merit, i.e., on NEET, or National Eligibility/Entrance Test scores.
A bench of Justice Hrishikesh Roy, Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia, and Justice SVN Bhatti said that as citizens and residents of India "we have the right to choose residence anywhere... the Constitution also gives us the right to choose admission in educational institutions across India."
"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 court said.
"The Constitution also gives us the right to choose admission in educational institutions across India."
The court acknowledged reservations may be contemplated "for those who reside in a particular state", but only in undergraduate courses. "... considering the importance of specialised doctors, reservation in higher levels - on the basis of residence - would be violative of Article 14."