Delhi High Court says admission under sports supernumerary quota is not a matter of right

As Delhi University says it considered the sport of karate only for select courses, the high court says it falls within the domain of the university's discretion.

Students during the sports trial for admission in Delhi University (Express Photo by Praveen Khanna)

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed an appeal by a postgraduate student challenging the non-availability of supernumerary seats in Delhi University through the sports quota, stating that such discretion falls within the university’s domain and that a student cannot claim such seats as a matter of right.

The student-petitioner, Vidushi Kasniya, a karate champion, claimed that while applying for the master’s course in psychology, she could not select the option of “admission on sports supernumerary quota,” despite such seats being mentioned in the bulletin of information for the Common Seat Allocation System.

Delhi University informed the court that it considered the sport of karate to provide a sports supernumerary quota for undergraduate courses and select postgraduate courses (MA in music, MPEd, BPEd, MFA, etc), but not for other courses.

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A bench of Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela observed, “This Court is of the view that it is the policy decision of the University of Delhi, which is a central university, to decide the eligibility criteria, frame the guidelines for admission in different undergraduate or postgraduate courses, etc., which would include deciding the sports/games to be considered for the purpose of granting admission in PG courses under the sports quota.

“Consequently, it would also be within the domain of the University’s discretion to decide whether a particular sport, such as Karate, is to be included in such sports quota or not. A candidate/student cannot claim, as a matter of right, that the sport he or she participates in must be included in the sports quota. After all, it is an admitted position that all sports are not at par and do not enjoy the same popularity.”

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