0
0
Chandigarh, June 12, 2025 — The Punjab and Haryana High Court has upheld the Chandigarh administration’s decision to reallocate vacant Union Territory (UT) quota seats in postgraduate (PG) medical courses to the All India Quota (AIQ), rejecting a legal challenge from several aspirants.
The case arose following a June 3 notification by the UT administration, which diverted unfilled UT Pool seats at Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Chandigarh, to the AIQ pool. Several PG medical aspirants challenged this move, arguing that these seats should instead have been transferred to the Institutional Preference (IP) category under the state quota for local candidates. Their counsel, Senior Advocate Gurminder Singh, contended that the administration’s action was a “complete U-turn” and violated both the spirit and letter of the Supreme Court’s judgment in the Shrey Goel case.
A division bench of Justices Mahabir Singh Sindhu and H.S. Grewal dismissed the petition, stating that the legal issue of residence-based reservation in PG medical admissions had already been settled by the Supreme Court. Justice Sindhu observed, “This Court is not persuaded with the arguments raised by learned senior counsel… the legal issue has already been adjudicated”.
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court held that domicile-based reservations for postgraduate medical admissions are unconstitutional, as they violate Article 14 of the Constitution. The apex court clarified that only institutional preference, to a limited extent, is permissible, and that there should be no domicile-based state quota for PG seats. Admissions are now to be based on a 50% all-India and 50% institutional quota.
The Chandigarh administration initially proposed converting vacant UT Pool seats to the IP category in April, but later issued a fresh notification in June reassigning them to the AIQ. This led to the legal challenge, with petitioners arguing that the move exceeded the 50% limit for AIQ seats. However, the High Court found that the seat matrix—75 for AIQ and 76 for State Quota (plus four EWS)—remained within permissible limits and aligned with the Supreme Court’s emphasis on merit-based admissions.
The court concluded, “Consequently, there is no option, except to dismiss the petition,” thereby reinforcing the administration’s decision and the precedence of merit over domicile-based reservations in PG medical admissions.
Disclaimer:
This article is based on reports from Medical Dialogues and The Indian Express. The information presented is accurate as of the date of publication and is intended for general knowledge purposes only. Readers are advised to refer to official notifications and legal documents for the most current and authoritative information. The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the sources cited and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any institution or authority.
