Allahabad HC Quashes 79% Reservation in 4 UP Medical Colleges: What It Means

Lucknow, Sept 3 – The Allahabad High Court has delivered a strong reminder on the constitutional ceiling of caste-based reservations, striking down the Uttar Pradesh government’s special quota policy in four government medical colleges—Ambedkar Nagar, Kannauj, Jalaun, and Saharanpur.

At the heart of the controversy was the state’s attempt to allocate over 79 percent of MBBS seats to reserved categories, leaving just seven out of 85 seats for general candidates. The court ruled the move “blatantly unconstitutional,” reiterating that reservations cannot cross the 50 percent cap mandated by the Supreme Court in the landmark Indira Sawhney judgment, unless backed by proper legislation and exceptional circumstances.

Impact on Students

The immediate fallout is serious: over 10,000 medical students admitted under this policy now face uncertainty. The High Court has directed fresh counselling, which could alter the academic trajectory of many candidates. While reserved-category students fear losing seats they had already secured, general-category aspirants see this as a correction against exclusionary excess.

Political and Social Dimensions

This ruling reopens the long-standing debate around reservation ceilings in education. UP’s experiment was politically significant—crafted in the name of social justice, but now legally untenable. The court’s intervention may force the state to strike a balance between affirmative action and constitutional safeguards.

It also highlights a recurring issue: governments often expand quotas under political pressure, only to have them struck down in courts, leaving students caught in the crossfire. The uncertainty undermines trust in the admission system and creates avoidable chaos during already stressful entrance seasons like NEET.

The Road Ahead

With the High Court’s verdict, UP will have to redraw its medical admission matrix strictly within the 50 percent cap. The state could appeal in the Supreme Court, but unless a larger constitutional bench re-examines the reservation limit, the current ruling will set the tone for medical admissions in coming years.

In essence, the decision is more than a technical correction—it is a reminder that policy-making in education cannot bypass constitutional boundaries, and any attempt to do so risks destabilizing the very students it claims to uplift.

The Medical Bulletin