The Punjab government had challenged a High Court order, which trashed its August 20 notification extending the ambit of the NRI quota to include distant relatives "such as uncles, aunts, grandparents, and cousins" for admissions in medical colleges.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court dismissed a batch of pleas filed against the Punjab and Haryana High Court ruling which had quashed a Punjab government notification allowing distant relatives to avail of the NRI admission quota benefits in the state's medical colleges.
A bench, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud, refusing to interfere with the high court order, observed that the "NRI quota business must be stopped now. All these petition petitions are dismissed. Let us put a lid on this. This fraud has come to an end. This NRI business is nothing but a fraud," remarked CJI Chandrachud.
The Bench, also comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, was dealing with three petitions, including a petition filed by the Punjab government, against the high court’s ruling quashing the notification issued to accommodate candidates under NRI quota, who are either the wards or the nearest relation of NRIs, including the brother or sister of the father, the brother or sister of the mother, the father and mother of father, the father and mother of the mother, and first degree paternal/maternal cousins.
The Punjab government, on August 20, modified the provisions to the extent that candidates who are the ward/nearest relation of NRI may avail of the benefit of NRI quota seats, in case NRI seats are left vacant.
After several petitions were filed before the High Court, it quashed the Punjab government's NRI quota move on September 10. The government then reached the Supreme Court, which also upheld the High Court order. Terming the High Court verdict "absolutely right", the bench said, "Look at the deleterious consequences... the candidates who have three times higher marks will lose admission (in NEET-UG courses)." (IANS inputs)
