SHALINI MISHRA Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The writ petition before the learned Single Judge was filed by ten petitioners who are the appellants in the special appeal. All of them hold a master's degree in Sanskrit Literature and were desirous of seeking admission to the D Phil course conducted by the Allahabad University which is represented by the second and third respondents. All of them belong to the general category and were denied admission for the batch of students admitted in 2014-15. That resulted in the writ petition which they filed.

(2.) Parliament enacted the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006. Section 3 provides a reservation in Central educational institutions of fifteen per cent for the Scheduled Castes, seven and one-half per cent for the Scheduled Tribes and twenty seven per cent for the Other Backward Classes. The Act came into force on 3 January 2007. Prior to the enactment of the Act, there was no reservation for the Other Backward Classes in the Central educational institutions. Section 5 stipulates that notwithstanding anything contained in Section 3 (iii) or in any other law for the time being in force (Section 3 (iii) provides for OBC's reservation of twenty seven per cent), every Central Educational Institution shall, with the prior approval of the appropriate authority, increase the number of seats in a branch of study or faculty over and above its annual permitted strength so that the number of seats, excluding those reserved for the reserved categories, is not less than the number of such seats available for the academic session immediately preceding the date on which the Act came into force.

(3.) The learned counsel appearing on behalf of the Allahabad University states that the University passed a resolution on 16 May 2012 by which a decision was taken inter alia that wherever possible a maximum number of eight candidates may be registered under a research supervisor subject to availability of appropriate facilities and infrastructure.