Punjab and Haryana High Court’s verdict upholding the decision of Punjab government to narrow down the NRI category in medical college admissions is likely to have an impact on the petitions challenging a Sector-32 Government Medical College and Hospital’s decision to confine the NRI quota to only those candidates whose parents or grandparents – in case the parent is not alive- are living outside at the time of admissions.

The division bench of Justices Harinder Singh Sidhu and Arun Monga in Punjab’s case Wednesday said the purpose of restricting the admission in medical colleges under NRI quota to only an NRI or children of NRI by the state is to give “weight only to the genuine cases” where the children of those parents who have migrated to other countries want to get the benefit of education in their native country. Terming it a reasonable decision, the court said it was open for the state government to make any policy with regard to the residents and “no interference is warranted” by the court in policymaking.

However, the decision to exclude the close relatives – other than own children, of the NRIs by the GMCH-32 has also been challenged on a ground that the guidelines run contrary to the instructions issued by Panjab University to which the college is affiliated. An official in the administration conceded that while the decision in Punjab’s case could turn the case in their favour, the question of Panjab University guidelines will also come in question.

As carried in IE