The Jabalpur bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has taken up a petition alleging unfair allocation of NRI quota seats in private medical colleges, affecting the admission prospects of deserving non-NRI students.

Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Justice Vinay Saraf, presiding over the division bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, have sought responses from the respondents in a case currently before the court.

The petition filed by Dr. Ojas Yadav from Bhopal highlights that NEET prepares a merit list for NRIs, and private medical colleges in the state allocate 15% of seats under the NRI quota. However, the state government has restricted the allocation of NRI quota seats to just eight branches, despite there being 22 branches in total.

Advocate Alok Bagrecha contended that the state government's allocation of NRI quota seats in select branches is a clear violation of the rights of meritorious students. He emphasized that the allocation of 152 NRI quota seats in eight select branches is unfair and should be distributed across all branches to ensure equal opportunities for all students.

The petitioner claimed before the court that the seat matrix of private colleges, outlining the seat allocation for each category, was prepared in violation of the stipulated Medical Education Admission Rules-2018.

In a blatant disregard for admission rules, private medical colleges have reserved an excessive 40-50% seats in various branches for the NRI quota, far exceeding the mandated 15% limit. Moreover, choice filling is being conducted without allowing time for claims and objections. The bench has issued notices to the respondents, requiring a response within a week.

(Input from various sources)

(Rehash/Sai Sindhuja K/MSM)