Domicile-based reservation for PG medical admissions unconstitutional: Supreme Court

Writing for the Bench, Justice Dhulia said: “We are all domiciled in the territory of India. We are all residents of India. Our common bond as citizens and residents of one country gives us the right not only to choose our residence anywhere in India, but also gives us the right to carry on trade and business or a profession anywhere in India. It also gives us the right to seek admission in educational institutions across India.”

The court said that while such reservation may be permissible “to a certain degree” in MBBS courses, it is impermissible in PG medical courses.

“The benefit of reservation in educational institutions, including medical colleges, to those who reside in a particular State can be given to a certain degree only in MBBS courses, for which we have assigned reasons in preceding paragraphs. But considering the importance of specialist doctors in PG medical course, reservation at the higher level on the basis of residence would be violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India,” the court said.

“If such a reservation is permitted, it would be an invasion on the fundamental rights of several students who are being treated unequally simply for the reason that they belong to a different State in the Union. This would be a violation of the equality clause in Article 14 of the Constitution and would amount to a denial of equality before the law,” it said.

“The State quota seats, apart from a reasonable number of institution-based reservations, have to be filled strictly on the basis of merit in all-India examination,” the court said, while adding that its decision would not affect admissions already granted on the basis of domicile-based reservation.

“Domicile in normal parlance denotes ‘the place of living’ or permanent residence. The legal concept is, however, different,” the court said. “The very concept of a provincial or State domicile in India is a misconception. There is only one domicile in India, which we refer to as domicile in the territory of India as given under Article 52. All Indians have only one domicile, which is the Domicile of India,” it said.

The Bench also noted that in Dr Pradeep Jain vs Union of India, the SC had, in 1984, explained why residence-based reservation in PG medical courses was violative of Article 14, and such reservation may be permissible in MBBS courses. “The reasoning given was that it is the State which spends money on creating the infrastructures and bears the expenses for running a medical college, and therefore some reservation at the basic level of a medical course i.e. MBBS can be permissible for the residents of that State. The classification between residents and others here can be justified as the classification seeks to maintain a balance as it considers local needs, backwardness of the area, the expense borne by the State in creating the infrastructure, etc,” it said.

The court was hearing appeals against a Punjab and Haryana HC ruling that scrapped such domicile-based reservation in PG medical admission.