SHIVAM SHRESTHI Vs. UOI AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THESE two writ petitions involve different shades of the issue, which pertains to priority of reservation and preferential treatments to the children of the Ex -Servicemen in admission into professional institutions. The Ministry of Defence, Government of India, in this behalf, had addressed a D.O. letter as far as back on 30.3.1992 to all the State Chief Ministers/Governors in pressing upon the need for such reservation. This letter reads as under:

(2.) The aforesaid request has been reiterated time and again by the Defence Ministry. Even on 29.8.2003, Defence Minister, Union of India had written a D.O. letter to Union Human Resource Development Minister expressing concern on the issue of full utilization of reservation of seats for the widows/wards of armed forces personnel killed/disabled in action or during peace time in Central/State Universities/Autonomous professional/non -professional institutions reproducing the aforesaid seven priorities categories. Similar letters are addressed to the University Grants Commission as well. Various State Governments have followed the aforesaid instructions and given the reservation to the wards of Ex -Servicemen to admission in professional institutions. However, the aforesaid seven categories, as mentioned above, are not adopted in the same manner and present two cases are the example of that.

(3.) It starts by mentioning that the same is issued pursuant to the directions of the Supreme Court dated 14.8.2003 given in the matter of Islamic Academy of Education Vs. State of Karnataka, which judgment is reported as : (2003) 6 SCC 697, for Defence category, 5% of seats for each programme are reserved for widows/wards of personnel of Armed Forces in the order of prescribed category. It mentions of all the seven categories in the same priority, as was stated by the Ministry of Defence and taken note of above.