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‘Impermissible’: SC rules out residence-based reservation in PG medical courses

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New Delhi, Jan 29: The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that residence-based reservation in Post Graduate (PG) medical courses under state quota is constitutionally invalid.

A bench, headed by Justice Hrishikesh Roy, said that providing for domicile or residence-based reservation in PG medical courses is constitutionally impermissible and cannot be done.

It opined that residence-based reservation is impermissible for the reason that such reservation runs counter to the idea of citizenship and equality under the Constitution.

It clarified that institutional preference or reservations to a reasonable extent permissible under the Constitution in PG courses, yet reservation in PG medical courses and other higher learning courses, on the basis of ‘residence’ violates Article 14 of the Constitution.

“We must also remember that, to a reasonable degree, residence-based reservation in a state is permissible for MBBS course, but the same reservation for PG courses is not permissible,” added the Bench, also comprising Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and S.V.N. Bhatti.

It referred to previous decisions of the apex court, where it was held that at the PG level, merit cannot be compromised, although residence-based reservation can be permissible to a certain degree in UG or MBBS courses.

In Chandigarh’s Government Medical College and Hospital, 64 PG medical seats falling under the state quota were reserved either for the ‘residents’ of Chandigarh or for those who have done their MBBS from the same college.

The prospectus provided a very wide definition of ‘residents’ of Chandigarh and even included a person who studied in Chandigarh at any time for 5 years or the children of parents who had property in the Union Territory for a period of 5 years at any point of time.

After several petitions were filed before the Punjab and Haryana High Court challenging this residence-based reservation, the high court held that the reservation was given on the basis of a long-discarded principle of domicile or residence and was bad in law.

Upholding the decision, the Supreme Court said: “We are all domiciled in the territory of India. We are all residents of India. Our common bond as citizens and residents of one country gives us the right not only to choose our residence anywhere in India, but also gives us the right to carry on trade & business or a profession anywhere in India. It also gives us the right to seek admission in educational institutions across India.”

It said that the benefit of affirmative action in educational institutions to those who reside in a particular state can be given to a certain degree only in MBBS courses, but considering the importance of specialist doctors in PG Medical Course, reservation at the higher level on the basis of ‘residence’ would be violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India.

“If such a reservation is permitted then it would be an invasion on the fundamental rights of several students, who are being treated unequally simply for the reasons that they belong to a different state in the Union! This would be a violation of the equality clause in Article 14 of the Constitution and would amount to a denial of equality before the law,” the top court added.

It stressed that state quota seats, apart from a reasonable number of institution-based reservations, have to be filled strictly on the basis of merit in the All-India examination.

Education

Kalyan: 3,000 Mumbai University Engineering Students Face Uncertainty Over Retrospective Exam Rule Change

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Kalyan: Nearly 3,000 engineering students from colleges affiliated to Mumbai University in the Kalyan region are facing academic uncertainty after the university reportedly altered examination rules after the completion of exams, triggering widespread confusion and anger among students.

Students appeared under prescribed guidelines; new norms now threaten eligibility

According to students, they appeared for their examinations under a prescribed set of academic guidelines. However after the examination process concluded, the university introduced revised rules, raising serious concerns over results eligibility for promotion to the next academic year, and overall academic progression.

Students fear that implementation of the new norms could jeopardise their entire academic year. If these rules are enforced retrospectively, many of us may lose a year despite following the guidelines that were in place at the time of examination a student representative said.

Students approach Senate Member Alpesh Bhoir seeking immediate intervention

Distressed by the sudden development, a large group of students approached Mumbai University Senate Member Alpesh Bhoir seeking immediate intervention. The students submitted a representation outlining how the abrupt rule change could directly impact their results, admissions to the next semester, and future career prospects.

Taking cognisance of the issue Bhoir assured the students that their academic interests would be safeguarded. He termed the move “unjust and unacceptable stating that altering rules after examinations undermines fairness and transparency in the education system.

Bhoir terms move ‘unjust and unacceptable’; to meet Pro-Vice-Chancellor on Thursday

“I will immediately intervene in the matter and meet the Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Mumbai University on Thursday to present the students’ concerns. Under no circumstances should students suffer due to administrative decisions taken after the examination process Bhoir said.

The sudden policy shift has created anxiety across engineering campuses in Kalyan, with students and parents closely watching the university’s response. Academic experts have also opined that retrospective implementation of rules could lead to legal and administrative complications.

All eyes are now on the Mumbai University administration as thousands of students await clarity on their academic future.

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Crime

Rajasthan Police bust gang involved in NEET cheating, arrest five

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Jaipur, May 5: Jaipur Police have arrested five members of a gang involved in cheating during the NEET UG 2025 examination by using dummy candidates and unfair means.

The arrests were made following a raid at a flat in ABD Pristine Apartments located in Jagdamba Nagar, Karni Vihar, based on a tip-off, said officials on Monday.

The police recovered fake exam documents, Bluetooth devices, four SIM cards, mobile phones, and Rs 50,000 in cash from the possession of the accused. A Scorpio vehicle was also seized.

Those arrested include Ajit Kumar Barala (26), a resident of Chimanpura, Chomu; Sohan Lal Chaudhary (26), from Kushalpura, Samod; and Jitendra Sharma (24), from Bichpadi, Harmada.

DCP (West) Amit Kumar stated that the NEET UG 2025 exam, conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), was held on Sunday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

The arrested suspects were allegedly planning to help candidates clear the exam using illegal methods.

During the initial investigation, it was revealed that Sohan and Ajit were charging large sums of money from candidates in exchange for ensuring their success through fraudulent means.

Jitendra Sharma had been prepared as a dummy candidate, and the gang had used artificial intelligence tools on mobile phones to manipulate and merge photographs to create fake admit cards. Sharma was scheduled to appear for the NEET exam on behalf of Rohit Gora and was also preparing to sit for the Paramedical exam on May 27 in place of another candidate, Sanjay Chaudhary.

Based on information provided during interrogation, police also arrested the original candidates — Rohit Gora (20), a resident of Chomu, and Sanjay Chaudhary (19), from Samod.

The investigation revealed that Sohan and Ajit are postgraduate students at the National Institute of Ayurveda (NIA) near Zorawar Singh Gate, and live together in a flat in Jagdamba Nagar. Motivated by the lure of a lavish lifestyle and quick earnings, they allegedly turned to examination fraud.

Jitendra Sharma is a first-year MBBS student at the Copper Institute of Medical Science in Karnataka and had qualified NEET exam in 2024.

Meanwhile, further investigations are underway in the case, said police officials.

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Education

JEE Main 2025 session 2 results declared, 24 candidates score 100 percentile

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New Delhi, April 19: The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Saturday officially declared the results of JEE Main 2025 Session 2 Paper 1 on its official website, jeemain.nta.nic.in.

Notably, 24 candidates have achieved a perfect 100 percentile score in the exam, with the highest number of toppers hailing from Rajasthan, followed by Maharashtra, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, and Telangana, among other states.

The NTA announced that the results of 110 candidates found using unfair means, including forged documents, in JEE (Main) have been withheld. More than 9.92 lakh candidates had appeared for the second edition of the crucial exam.

The JEE Main 2025 scorecard includes a detailed breakdown of each candidate’s performance, featuring raw marks, subject-wise percentiles, the overall NTA score, All India Rank (AIR), and JEE Advanced eligibility status.

Alongside individual scores, NTA has also released the category-wise cut-offs for JEE Advanced 2025 eligibility. These cut-offs will help students evaluate their chances of progressing to the next phase or securing seats through the Joint Seat Allocation Authority (JoSAA) counselling process, expected to commence in June 2025.

This announcement marks a crucial academic milestone for lakhs of aspirants across the country, JEE Main serves as a gateway to top engineering institutions, including NITs, IIITs, and other Centrally Funded Technical Institutions (CFTIs).

It is also the qualifying exam for the prestigious JEE Advanced, which paves the way to admission into the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).

In a move to maintain transparency and accuracy in the evaluation process, NTA released the final answer key for the JEE Main 2025 April session on Thursday.

As per the updated key, two questions have been officially dropped, one from the April 3 first shift (domestic set) and another from the April 2 first shift (international set).

These decisions were made after reviewing valid objections submitted during the challenge window. However, the answer key was briefly removed from the official website late Thursday night.

Candidates who have qualified for JEE Advanced 2025 can now begin the registration process and ramp up their preparation. Those who did not qualify will participate in JoSAA counselling to explore other premier engineering opportunities.

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