The Jamia Millia Islamia University told the Delhi High Court on Tuesday that it was declared a minority educational institution in 2011 and the provision of 10 per cent reservation for students from the economically weaker section (EWS) will not be applicable to it.
The oral submissions were made on behalf of the university in a petition seeking directions to it to ensure 10 per cent reservation for students from the EWS category at the time of admission from the academic year 2023-24.
A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Yashwant Varma granted two weeks’ time to the university to file its reply to the petition and listed it for further hearing on May 22.
The public interest litigation (PIL) matter, filed by law student Akanksha Goswami, said the university ought to reserve seats for EWS category students at the time of admission from the academic year 2023-2024 in terms of the Constitution (103rd Amendment) Act, 2019, which provides for 10 per cent reservation for them in higher education and government jobs.
Senior advocate Arun Bhardwaj, representing the petitioner, submitted that either Jamia could be a central university or a minority institution and cannot be both.
He said the admission process has begun from April and will go on till September.
The university’s standing counsel, Pritish Sabharwal, submitted that an order was passed by the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions in 2011, declaring Jamia a minority educational institution.
He said the government issued a notification in 2019 that the office memorandum enabling the provision of 10 per cent reservation for EWS students in admission to educational institutions will not be applicable to minority institutions and Jamia is covered by it.
The high court had earlier issued notices to Jamia, the Ministry of Education and the University Grants Commission (UGC) on the petition and sought their response.
