North News
New Delhi, September 24
Terming the Punjab govt move as ‘complete fraud’, the Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the Punjab government’s appeal challenging a Punjab and Haryana High Court ruling that quashed its decision to broaden the definition of the ‘NRI quota’ for undergraduate medical admissions. This appeal was heard in light of the high court’s September 10 order, which overturned the Punjab government’s notification issued on August 20.
The high court criticised the Aam Aadmi Party-led state government’s move to include distant relatives—such as uncles, aunts, grandparents, and cousins—of non-resident Indians (NRIs) under the 15 percent quota for medical college admissions. The Supreme Court bench, consisting of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justices JB Pardiwala, and Manoj Misra, referred to the situation as a “money-spinning machine” and denounced the NRI quota as fraudulent. “We will dismiss all the petitions. This NRI business is nothing but fraud. We will put an end to all this. The so-called precedents must give way to the primacy of law,” the bench stated, the news outlet The Hindustan Times reported.
The court termed the high court’s verdict “absolutely right,” highlighting the negative implications of the policy. The justices noted that deserving candidates with significantly higher marks could lose out on admissions to NEET-UG courses due to this expanded quota, the news outlet further said.
After hearing the Punjab government’s arguments in the case, Chief Justice Chandrachud said , “We need to put an end to this NRI quota business immediately. It is a complete fraud, and this is what we are doing to our education system,” the news outlet India Today reported.
