'NRI business is fraud': SC junks Punjab govt's plea against HC verdict

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the Punjab government's appeal against a high court ruling quashing its decision to expand the definition of the "NRI quota" for admissions in medical and dental courses. The apex court criticised the move, stating, "This fraud must come to an end."
Earlier on September 10, the Punjab and Haryana high court had struck down the AAP government's order, which extended the NRI quota to include distant relatives like "uncles, aunts, grandparents, and cousins" under the 15 percent quota.
The bench comprising of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said: "This is nothing but a money spinning machine".
"We will dismiss all the petitions. This NRI business is nothing but a fraud. We will put an end to all this.... now the so called precedents must give way to primacy of law," the bench added.
Calling the high court verdict "absolutely right", the court said, "Look at the deleterious consequences... the candidates who have three times higher marks will lose admission in NEET-UG courses."
The Supreme Court stated that distant relatives, such as 'mama', 'tai', and 'taya', residing abroad, cannot be given admissions priority over meritorious candidates, as this is unacceptable.
(With input from PTI)