The Supreme Court delivered a landmark decision on Wednesday, favoring several students from reserved categories who had been unjustly denied admission to MBBS courses under the Unreserved Category Government School (UR-GS) quota in Madhya Pradesh. This ruling overturned earlier judgments from the Madhya Pradesh High Court, which had upheld the state’s decision to deny these students their rightful seats.
Overturning Previous Rulings
The Supreme Court bench, comprised of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan, nullified the High Court orders issued in December 2023 and January 2024 that had previously dismissed the petitions filed by the affected students. These petitioners argued that, despite their higher merit scores compared to other candidates admitted under the UR-GS quota, they were unfairly excluded from the seats reserved for them.
The crux of the dispute centers on the Madhya Pradesh government’s handling of horizontal reservations as outlined in the Admission Rules, 2018. The petitioners, who had qualified under reserved categories but had superior scores compared to many candidates who were admitted, contended that they should have been granted admission to these seats before they were allocated to the open category.
Court’s Findings and Directions
Justice Gavai, commenting on the case, stated that the Madhya Pradesh government’s approach to further sub-classifying candidates into categories was legally unsustainable. The Supreme Court recognized that the petitioners, who had achieved higher marks than several candidates admitted under the UR-GS category, had been unjustly deprived of their rightful place.
With the admissions process for the 2023-24 academic year already concluded, the Supreme Court directed the Madhya Pradesh government to ensure that the petitioners are admitted in the upcoming 2024-25 academic session. The court has reserved seven seats specifically for these students as part of an interim order.
Implications of the Decision
This ruling is poised to have far-reaching implications for the application of reservation policies in educational institutions across India. It reinforces the principle that merit should be the primary criterion for admissions, even within reservation quotas, and highlights the necessity for transparent and fair implementation of reservation rules.
