Punjab’s NRI quota criteria a ‘fraud’ on education system:SC

Punjab’s NRI quota criteria a ‘fraud’ on education system:SC

Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesofindia.com 25.09.2024 

New Delhi : Supreme Court on Tuesday castigated the AAP govt in Punjab for expanding the eligibility criteria for availing 15% NRI quota in admissions to state-run and private medical and dental colleges to include ‘wards’ of NRIs and termed this a “fraud on the education system to mint money”. Taking exception to the last-minute expansion of criteria for NRI quota after the last day of submission of applications to include any near relative or ward of NRIs for admission to medical colleges, a bench of CJI D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra strongly criticised the Bhagwant Singh Mann-led AAP govt for devising a “money spinning” mechanism. 

“Look at the expressions — ‘nearest relatives’ and ‘wards’ of NRIs. Anyone can be a nearest relative, even a third cousin. And what did the govt mean by ward of an NRI? Any and everyone can be termed a ward of an NRI, and the proof is just an affidavit by the person residing abroad,” the bench said. 

Dismissing Punjab govt’s appeal against HC’s Sep 10 order quashing the new criteria, the CJIled bench said, “These are all back door entries, and this is nothing but a money-spinning device for the govt. It must stop.” Appearing for general category students, who are to avail the vacant NRI quota seats, senior advocate Abhimanyu Bhandari said a general category student with 630 out of 700 marks would not get a seat but an NRI ward with just 200 marks could get admitted. 

“In Punjab, it is not difficult to find an NRI,” he said. The CJI said the Punjab and Haryana HC bench led by CJ Sheel Nagu had given the correct judgment by quashing the Aug 20 corrigendum to the medical admission prospectus and directing the state to complete the admissions as per the unamended prospectus which entitled only children of NRIs to take admission under the NRI quota. For Punjab, additional advocate general Shadan Farasat argued that the AAP govt had followed  the same process that was being implemented for NRI quota admissions by Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chandigarh and the Union govt.