The
Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed three petitions challenging a Punjab and
Haryana High Court order that had quashed a Punjab government notification
amending conditions for Non-Resident Indian (NRI) quota admissions in the
state’s medical colleges.
The
bench, led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, with Justices JB
Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, came down heavily on the amendments, labelling the
changes as a ‘fraud’ that compromised the integrity of the country’s education
system.
“We
must stop this NRI quota business now. This is complete fraud and this is what
we are doing to our education system. Judges know what they are dealing with.
The High Court has dealt with the case threadbare,” the court observed.
The
controversy follows an August 20 notification from the Punjab government, which
expanded the definition of ‘NRI’ candidates to include relatives of NRIs. This
notification was struck down by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on September
11, citing that the broadening of the definition was “arguably unjustified”.
The
petitioners, represented by senior advocate Shadan Farasat, appealed to the
apex court, arguing that other states, including Himachal Pradesh, Uttar
Pradesh, and Chandigarh, employed a broader interpretation of the NRI quota,
while Punjab maintained a narrower scope.
However,
the Supreme Court rejected this reasoning, viewing the broader definition as a
money-driven scheme. “You say the nearest relation of NRI will also be
considered. Ward is also anyone’s ward. What is this? This is just a
money-spinning tactic of the state,” the court said.
Senior
advocates DS Patwalia and Abhimanyu Bhandari also argued before the bench, with
Bhandari stating that the NRI quota system was a mechanism to exploit financial
power for securing admissions.
He
further pointed out that deserving students were being unfairly excluded due to
these quotas.
“Prospectus
after clause 17 shows that once you choose a category, you have to live with
it. I have 636 marks — students who would have secured seats if not for this
quota. This is nothing but using money power to get into college. In Punjab,
everyone would have an NRI relative. It is high time this ends,” Bhandari
stated.
Concluding the matter, the Supreme Court dismissed all three petitions
and upheld the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s order. “All three petitions
dismissed. Let us put a lid on this. This fraud has come to an end. This NRI
business is nothing but a fraud. This comes to an end NOW. What is ward? You
just have to say I am looking after X. See the students who got three times
higher have lost out. We cannot lend our authority to something which is
blatantly illegal,” the court concluded.