The Tamil Nadu Government is set to file a review petition against the Supreme Court’s decision that eliminated domicile-based reservations in postgraduate medical courses. Health Minister Ma Subramanian warns this ruling undermines the state’s rights and affects local healthcare. The government is consulting legal experts to restore the previous quota policies and address potential workforce shortages in medical institutions.
Chennai: The Tamil Nadu Government has decided to file a review petition against the Supreme Court’s ruling, which struck down domicile-based reservations in specialized and higher studies, including postgraduate (PG) medical courses. The state government argues that the decision will affect the 69% reservation policy and the in-service quota for government medical colleges, as well as minority reservations in self-financing medical colleges.
State Health Minister Ma Subramanian has voiced strong concerns over the Supreme Court’s ruling, stating that it will undermine Tamil Nadu’s rights. According to him, the ruling means that Tamil Nadu will lose control over its medical admissions, despite the state fully funding PG and super-speciality medical education.
“Now, the judgment snatches away all the seats from us,”
he remarked, adding that the government is consulting legal experts to reverse the decision and reinstate the 50-50 seat-sharing model between the state and the central government.
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Currently, the central government handles 15% of undergraduate medical seats and 50% of postgraduate medical seats through its national counseling process. The new ruling will mean that even the remaining state-controlled seats will be purely merit-based, without domicile reservations.
Doctors’ associations have warned that the ruling will create significant problems for local healthcare services, particularly in government hospitals.
A senior government doctor stated,
“Doctors from other states will find it difficult to communicate with patients. This will hamper treatment for poor patients.”
Another official warned that
“if you don’t have a quota for local doctors, the workforce will reduce drastically.”
The impact will be especially severe in premier institutions like Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, where postgraduate doctors form a critical part of the workforce.
In its January 29, 2025 verdict, the Supreme Court ruled that domicile-based reservations in PG medical courses violate Article 14 of the Constitution, which guarantees equality before the law.
The bench, comprising Justices Hrishikesh Roy, Sudhanshu Dhulia, and SVN Bhatti, observed:
“Residence-based reservation in PG medical courses is clearly violative of Article 14 of the Constitution.”
The court held that state-quota PG medical seats must be filled based on NEET merit alone, without considering domicile as a factor.
While the Supreme Court clarified that students currently enrolled under domicile-based reservations will not be affected, the ruling will apply to all future admissions starting next academic year.
The Tamil Nadu government is now preparing a legal challenge to restore the previous system and maintain its quota policies for in-service doctors and local students.
Case Title – DR. TANVI BEHL VERSUS SHREY GOEL & ORS.
Read the Judgement here:
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