NRI quota: SC junks Punjab’s appeal against HC verdict, says fraud must end
Punjab and Haryana high court had quashed AAP-led state govt’s August 20 move, extending ambit of NRI quota to include distant relatives for admissions in undergraduate medical and dental courses.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the Punjab government’s appeal against a high court verdict quashing its decision to expand the definition of NRI quota for admissions in undergraduate medical and dental courses in the state.
“This fraud must come to an end now,” the apex court said.
On September 10, the Punjab and Haryana high court trashed the Aam Aadmi Party-led state government’s August 20 move extending the ambit of the NRI quota to include distant relatives “such as uncles, aunts, grandparents, and cousins” of NRIs for admissions under the 15% quota for this group in admissions in medical colleges.
“This is nothing but a money-spinning machine,” observed a bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra.
“We will dismiss all the petitions. This NRI business is nothing but fraud. We will put an end to all this.... now the so-called precedents must give way to primacy of law,” said the bench. Terming the high court verdict “absolutely right”, the court said, “Look at the deleterious consequences... the candidates who have three times higher marks will lose admission (in NEET-UG courses).”
The top court said distant relatives of a ‘mama, tai, taya’, who are settled abroad, will get admissions ahead of meritorious candidates and this cannot be allowed.