Southern States - Kerala   

HC quashes special quota for community

By Our Staff Reporter

KOCHI FEB. 6. A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court today quashed the reservation of seats in aided and minority higher secondary schools for candidates belonging to the community that established the institution.

The Bench, comprising Justice S. Sankarasubban and Justice A. Lakshmikutty, quashing the reservation clause in the prospectus for admission to high secondary courses in 1998-99, found the clause arbitrary. However, the Court made it clear that the admission already made in the reserved quota would not in any way be affected by the judgment.

The verdict came on a writ petition filed by the Ahikla Kerala Dheevara Sabha and others. In aided schools, 10 per cent seats were reserved for the community quota (for candidates belonging to the community to which the school belongs) and in minority institutions, as much as 20 per cent seats were set apart for community candidates. These seats were in addition to the quota earmarked for the management.

The petitioner pointed out that as far as community reservation was concerned, seats could be reserved only for Socially and Educationally Backward Class candidates.

The State Government, in its counter-affidavit, had not expressly stated the reasons for making such reservation norms. It had only said that this sort of reservation had existed even when there were pre-degree courses. As a result of an agreement reached among aided schools, the Government and the staff, the salary of teachers was paid thorough the Government. Therefore, certain rights of private managements had been taken away. That was why such a quota was given to the managements.

The Court said that reservation for candidates belonging to the community to which the school belonged did not stand the scrutiny of the Constitution. However, it was argued that there were a large number of vacancies every year so that all those who applied for the course would get admission. But the Court was not impressed by the arguments. The question was not whether everybody would get admission, but whether the reservation was constitutionally valid.

The Court said that in the Unnikrishnan case, the Supreme Court had held that there shall be no quota for any forward caste or community which might have established the educational institution. Therefore, the clause in the prospectus was arbitrary.

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