In Brief
The Supreme Court held that residence-based reservation in Post-Graduate Medical Courses violates Article 14 of the Constitution and is impermissible. While such reservation may be reasonable for undergraduate medical education (MBBS) given the State's investment in infrastructure, it cannot apply to specialist post-graduate studies where merit and excellence are essential. The Indian Constitution recognizes only one domicile—the Domicile of India—and all citizens have equal rights to education nationwide regardless of State residence. The Court upheld institutional preference reservations (for MBBS graduates of the same college) as reasonable, but invalidated the residence-based 'UT Chandigarh Pool' criteria. Prospectively, State Quota seats must be filled strictly by merit in national NEET examinations, though admissions already granted to continuing students remain unaffected.
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