The Supreme Court has rejected the Punjab government’s plea for NRI quota expansion in medical colleges, upholding a recent decision by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The case involved a challenge to the state’s August 2023 notification, which sought to broaden the definition of NRI candidates eligible for reserved seats in medical admissions. The Supreme Court firmly ruled that distant relatives of NRIs should not benefit from this NRI quota expansion, stating, “This fraud must end.”
The court’s decision comes in response to an amendment introduced by the Punjab government that sought to extend NRI quota benefits to distant relatives, such as uncles, aunts, cousins, and grandparents, not just the immediate family of NRIs. The NRI quota, originally intended to assist genuine NRIs and their children in securing educational opportunities in India, was seen as being misused through this amendment.
Earlier in the month, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had quashed the state’s notification, ruling it “unjustified” and cautioning that the broader definition of NRI candidates opened the door for manipulation. The High Court highlighted that the NRI quota was created to support NRIs and their immediate children, giving them access to education in India while ensuring that the system remained fair. However, including distant relatives under the NRI category was viewed as diluting the quota’s intent, undermining the merit-based selection process in medical admissions.
The High Court ruling followed a plea by medical aspirants who contested the Punjab government’s notification. The aspirants argued that the government had issued a prospectus outlining the NRI quota criteria for admissions on August 9, only to amend it on August 20, which they claimed was arbitrary and unfair. The court sided with the petitioners, issuing a stay on the amended notification and eventually quashing it.
The Supreme Court’s eventual denial of Punjab’s appeal emphasizes the necessity for a more stringent interpretation of the NRI quota. The court noted that the vagueness of the new laws, which allowed distant relatives to qualify as guardians for students, exposed the system to misuse. It was noted that such wide criteria would unjustly benefit persons who might claim guardianship merely to obtain a medical seat under the NRI quota, potentially at the expense of more worthy candidates on merit.
In a related development, the Karnataka government is seeking approval to impose a 15% NRI quota in government medical colleges beginning in the 2025-26 academic year. Karnataka’s Medical Education Minister, Sharan Prakash Patil, has proposed adding 508 extra places to 22 government medical colleges reserved solely for NRI students. The state expects to receive ₹127 crore in the first year from this policy, which would be used to enhance school facilities and education quality.
Karnataka currently only allows NRI admission in private medical institutes, with costs ranging from ₹1 crore to ₹2.5 crore. If approved, the NRI quota at government colleges will make education more affordable for international students, with an annual fee of ₹25 lakh. The notion is still being reviewed by the National Medical Commission.
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