In a significant ruling on Wednesday, January 29, the Supreme Court declared that domicile-based reservations for postgraduate medical seats are unconstitutional, as they violate Article 14 of the Constitution.

"Residence-based reservation in PG medical courses is clearly violative of Article 14 of the Constitution," pronounced a bench comprising Justice Hrishikesh Roy, Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice SVN Bhatti.

The bench ruled that domicile-based reservations for admission to postgraduate medical courses within the State quota are constitutionally impermissible. It emphasized that state quota seats must be filled based on merit in the NEET exam. In response to a reference, the three-judge bench reaffirmed the legal principles established in the earlier judgments in the Pradeep Jain and Saurabh Chandra cases.

"We are all domiciles in the territory of India. There is nothing like a provincial or state domicile. There is only one domicile. We are all residents of India. We have the right to choose residence anywhere in India and to carry out trade and profession anywhere in the country. The Constitution also gives us the right to choose admission in educational institutions across India.''

However, the bench clarified that the judgment will not impact existing domicile-based reservations. Students currently enrolled in PG courses or those who have already completed their studies under the residence category will not be affected by the ruling.