New Delhi, September 25, 2024** – In a scathing judgment, the Supreme Court of India has denounced the expansion of the NRI (Non-Resident Indian) quota in medical colleges in Punjab, terming it a “fraud” that undermines the merit-based admission process. The apex court ruled that the broadening of the NRI quota, which included distant relatives of NRIs, unfairly excluded more talented students and diluted the quality of admissions.A bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, along with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Mishra, dismissed petitions challenging a September 11 ruling by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The High Court had struck down the Punjab government’s August 20 notification that expanded the NRI quota to include relatives such as uncles, aunts, grandparents, and cousins of NRIs.”We must stop this NRI quota business now! This is a complete fraud, this is what we are doing to our education system,” the bench remarked during the hearing, emphasizing that the NRI quota was being exploited as a “money-spinning strategy” to bypass merit-based admissions.The bench highlighted that students with higher qualifications were being unfairly denied opportunities while less qualified candidates with financial backing gained admissions through this expanded NRI quota. “We cannot give our authority to something that is blatantly illegal,” the court observed.The Supreme Court emphasized that the original intent of the NRI quota was to provide genuine NRIs an opportunity to study in India, not to be used by wealthy individuals with distant familial connections to gain admissions. Senior advocate Abhimanyu Bhandari, representing the petitioner, cited the PA Inamdar judgment (2005) in his argument, reiterating that the NRI quota was never meant to be a tool for the wealthy to secure admissions by bypassing merit.The Punjab and Haryana High Court had previously ruled that the Punjab government’s expansion of the NRI quota was “unfair” and went against the core principle of merit-based education. The Supreme Court’s decision reaffirms that only genuine NRIs should be eligible for this quota, and the process must not compromise academic standards.Senior advocate Shadan Farasat argued that similar broad interpretations of the NRI quota are being applied in other states, including Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. However, the Supreme Court dismissed these arguments, reiterating that merit should be the key criterion in admissions, and any expansion of the NRI quota that undermines merit must be stopped.The case, *Prithvansh Malhotra vs. State of Punjab* WP(C) No. 000587/2024, has stirred significant debate on the integrity of the NRI quota in educational institutions. A senior official from the Punjab Medical Education Department stated that the government is yet to study the Supreme Court’s order and will make a formal announcement once the full judgment is reviewed.The Parents Association of Andhra Pradesh (PAAP), which has been closely monitoring developments in the education sector, welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision, asserting that it protects the rights of deserving students.