In Brief
This case concerns the right of meritorious reserved category candidates (MRCs) to opt for reserved seats in medical college admissions while maintaining the 50% reservation cap. The Court held that an MRC who qualifies on merit may choose a reserved category seat for better college preference without migrating to reserved status for reservation computation. When an MRC exercises this choice, the vacated general seat is filled by the lowest-ranked reserved candidate who loses out, not by other general candidates. This preserves 50% reservation. The Court distinguished this from civil service selection rules (Ramesh Ram), as medical admissions confer uniform benefits whereas service selections provide varying benefits by rank.
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