SALMA KHAN Vs. UNIVERSITY OF DELHI & ANR.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellant, belonging to OBC category, has preferred this appeal against the judgment dated 3rd October, 2011 in WP(C) No. 6656/2011 preferred by the appellant seeking direction for her admission to the LL.B. First Year Course in the respondent University.

(2.) THE undisputed facts are that the appellant appeared in the Entrance Test and secured rank of 444 in the OBC Category; that in the counselling held on 13th July, 2011, OBC candidates till the rank of 330 only were admitted; that the next counselling for the OBC category candidates was scheduled for 20th July, 2011 but was not held; that the respondent University however on 12th August, 2011 notified by affixation on the notice board and through website the date of 20th August, 2011 for the next counselling for the OBC category students; that the appellant did not participate in the counselling on 20th August, 2011 though OBC candidates with rank till 1017 were admitted on that day; that the appellant on 9th September, 2011 sought admission and upon being refused, filed the writ petition aforesaid.

(3.) THERE is a background to the respondent University, in the counselling held on 13th July, 2011 not filling up all the OBC category seats and also not holding the second counselling scheduled for 20th July, 2011. The respondent University had been interpreting the judgments of the Apex Court in Ashoka Kumar Thakur v. Union of India : (2008) 6 SCC 1 and in P.V. Indiresan v. Union of India : (2009) 7 SCC 300 as limiting the admission to OBC seats of only those OBC candidates who had secured marks within 10% below the marks of the last student admitted in the General Category. Though this Court had vide judgment dated 7th September, 2010 in Apurva v. Union of India : 172 (2010) DLT 326 held that admission to the OBC category seats could not be so limited/restricted but the said judgment had till then not been accepted by the respondent University. Moreover, an SLP converted into Civil Appeal No. 7084/2011 was also pending before the Supreme Court in this regard titled P.V. Indiresan v. UOI. The Supreme Court vide judgment dated 18th August, 2011 reported as : 2011 (9) SCALE 33 concurred with the judgment of this Court in Apurva (supra) and held that the admission to 27% OBC seats in accordance with the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006 could not be so restricted but it appears that the respondent University in anticipation of the said judgment, on 12th August, 2011 itself notified the counselling for the remaining OBC seats which were so available.