“We must stop this NRI quota business now! This is complete fraud and this is what we are doing to our education system! Judges know what they are dealing with. The High Court has dealt with the case threadbare,” the court said.
File Photo: Supreme Court of India
Expressing its misgivings over the Punjab government’s notification broadening the definition of the relatives of the Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) to include their nearest relations, the Supreme Court on Tuesday termed it as a “fraud” that undermined the quality of the country’s education system, stating that NRI quota system must come to an end.
Dismissing the three petitions, including one by the Punjab government, challenging the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s order quashing an August 20, 2024, notification that broadened the definition of NRI relatives, a bench of Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra said, “We must stop this NRI quota business now! This is complete fraud and this is what we are doing to our education system! Judges know what they are dealing with. The High Court has dealt with the case threadbare.”
The August 20 notification by the Punjab government broadened the definition to include uncles, aunts, grandparents and cousins.
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“Let us put a lid on this. This NRI business is nothing but a fraud. This comes to an end now. What is a ward? You just have to say I am looking after X. See the students who got three times high marks have lost out. We cannot lend our authority to something which is blatantly illegal,” the top court said.
Terming the August 20 notification broadening the definition of NRI relatives as “unjustified”, the Punjab and Haryana High Court by its September 11, 2024, order had quashed the notification broadening the definition of the relatives of the Non-Resident Indians.
As the senior advocate Shadan Farasat, appearing for a petitioner challenging the High Court order referred to other states including Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Chandigarh which are having broader definition of the NRI relatives, the court said, “You say nearest relation of NRI will also be considered. What is this? This is just a money-spinning tactic of the State.”
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