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NEET PG 2025 Latest Updates- Supreme Court Cancels Domicile-Based Reservation in PG Medical Admissions

The Supreme Court of India after its hearing on Wednesday trashed the domicile-based reservation for admissions to all the NEET PG 2025 medical courses under the state quota. The SC mentioned that this reservation infringes upon the Right to Equality guaranteed under Article 14 of the Constitution.

The 3-judges bench comprising Justices Hrishikesh Roy, Sudhanshu Dhulia, and S V N Bhatti stated that the residence-based reservations in PG medical courses violate the fundamental principles of equality among citizens.

Key Highlights of the SC Ruling Trashing the Domicile-Based Reservation

Violation of Article 14 

While trashing the Domicile-Based Reservation, the 3-judges bench mentioned that this reservation in Post-Graduate medical courses admission is against the Right to Equality guaranteed under Article 14 of the Indian Constitution.

Right to choose residence and profession

While reading out the final judgment, Justice Dhulia mentioned that all Indian Citizens have the right to only bound for single domicile, i.e., of India. All citizens have the right to stay in the city or state of their choice, practice any profession, and seek educational opportunities anywhere without restrictions.

Reservations Allowed Only in MBBS Course

While talking about the Domicile-Based Reservation, the court also accepted that it is permissible to follow for admission under the NEET UG Exam. The reservation should stay only for the MBBS course and must not be extended to the PG levels as it will undermine the quality of education and healthcare in India, mentioned the top court.

Clarification for the Existing Reservation

The court also clarified that this ruling will not affect any of the candidates who have already got admission into their PG-level medical course. The ruling will be applicable to be followed by agencies in the next round of admissions.

What is the Whole Matter & How It Started?

The top court announced it verdict against the Domicile-Based Reservation in PG Medical courses but this came as a reference to a decision made by the Punjab and Haryana High Court while hearing to several appeals regarding the admission process of a medical college. The admission process of the medical college for PG medical courses started on March 28, 2019 and it had 64 PG seats in its state quota.

All the seats under the state quota were reserved for the “residents” of Chandigarh or the ones who completed their MBBS from the same college. The court mentioned that out of the total 64 seats, a total of 32 seats could have been filled on the basis of institutional preference.

“But the other 32 seats earmarked as UT Chandigarh pool were wrongly filled on the basis of residence, and we uphold the findings of the high court on this crucial aspect,” stated the SC.

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