HC scraps SC-ST quotas in Mumbai’s minority colleges

A similar circular was issued last year, following which St Xavier’s College and the Maharashtra Association of Minority Educational Institutions filed a writ petition challenging the circular. However, by the time the petition came up for hearing, the admissions had been completed, in accordance with the circular. The Nagpur bench of the court in 2001 ruled out reservations in the remaining 50 per cent seats. But in an order on May 20, 2002, the Directorate of Higher and Technical Education said reservations should continue.

The petitioners conceded that they were not against a reservation of 3 per cent of the remaining 50 per cent seats for the blind, physically handicapped, sportsmen etc.

The bench, in its interim order, said that in view of the Supreme Court’s judgement in the St Stephen’s College case and the clarificatory judgement given by a full bench of the Bombay High Court, reservations cannot be applied to the remaining 50-per cent seats in colleges of minority institutions. The bench said these admissions should be expressly based on merit.

In the first 50 per-cent seats, admissions will be given by the concerned college on its own discretion from among eligible applicants belonging to that particular minority group, strictly on merit.

After a reservation of 3 per cent for handicapped etc, there will be no reservation applicable for admissions to the remaining 47 per cent of seats.

The bench said candidates of the reserved categories can compete on merit for these seats. Merit is to be determined on the basis of marks procured in the Common Entrance Tests (CET) conducted by the university or state.

Another application was filed by the Hyderabad (Sind) Collegiate Board which runs more than a dozen colleges in and around Mumbai. Apart from challenging this clause, it also challenged another clause which said there will be no separate quota for in-house candidates.

The bench did not grant any stay to this clause, but said the minority institutions can admit in-house students but such students should be accommodated within the 50 per cent exclusive quota available for such managements.