ANSHIKA GOYAL Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The issues raised in aforementioned bunch of writ petitions are common and thus, all of them are being decided by a single judgment.

(2.) Vide Notification dated 6.2.2018, the State of Punjab notified commencement of the admission process for MBBS/BDS courses in Medical/Dental institutions in the State of Punjab. Para 16 of the said notification provided for reservation in Government Medical/Dental colleges. A quota of 1% was prescribed for sports persons and a quota of 1% each was prescribed for children/grand children of terrorist affected persons (for short 'TA') and children/grand children of Sikh riots affected persons (for short 'RA'). Para 17 of the said notification pertained to admission to private institutions and clause (ii) thereof prescribed reservation in Government/management quota seats. Although, 1% quota was provided for migrants from Jammu & Kashmir due to terrorist violence, no quota was provided for sports persons or TA/RA. Certain students challenged the non-inclusion of reservation for sports persons and TA/RA in private institutions by filing CWP-15944-2018 and other connected cases. The lead case was CWP-15944-2018 titled as 'Bani Suri and another Vs. State of Punjab and others.' All these cases were decided vide common judgment dated 23.8.2018 and direction was issued that reservation applicable to Government institutions would apply to private institutions as well as there was no rationale for not extending the reservation to the private institutions when entire admission process flowed from a centralized procedure based on Government instructions. We are informed that the said judgment was given effect to and a fresh notification was issued for the academic session 2018 providing for reservation for sports persons and TA/RA in private institutions in the Government quota seats as well as in management quota seats on lines of reservation provided in Government Medical/Dental institutions. Thereafter, for the academic session 2019, the State of Punjab commenced the admission process to Medical/Dental institutions through Notification dated 6.6.2019. This notification was identical to Notification dated 6.2.2018, inasmuch as, in para 16 relating to admission to private institutions, no reservation was provided for sports persons and TA/RA. Thus, the present writ petitions were filed, primarily on the basis of Bani Suri (supra). During the pendency of these writ petitions, the State of Punjab issued a Corrigendum dated 11.7.2019, replacing the earlier para 16. 1% quota was prescribed for sports persons and 1% quota each was prescribed for TA/RA, but the same was confined to the Government quota seats only. However, for the management quota seats, apart from reservation for Scheduled Castes, Backward Classes, Physically Handicapped/Orthopedically Handicapped, 1% quota was prescribed for migrants from Jammu & Kashmir due to terrorist violence.

(3.) Learned counsel representing the petitioners have argued that in the judgment of Bani Suri (supra) directions had been issued to provide for sports quota and quota for TA/RA in both the Government quota seats and management quota seats of private Medical/Dental institutions. The judgment was implemented for academic session 2018, but while issuing Notification dated 6.6.2019, for academic session 2019, the State has again not provided reservation for sports persons and TA/RA in private Medical/Dental institutions. This action is termed as completely arbitrary. It is argued that the Notification dated 6.6.2019, provides for reservation for migrants from Jammu & Kashmir due to terrorist violence, but for some unexplained reasons omits to include any reservation for sports persons and TA/RA. This is termed as unreasonable and reflective of non-application of mind. That apart, the State has enacted The Punjab Private Health Sciences Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admission, Fixation of Fee and Making of Reservation) Act, 2006 (hereinafter referred to as 'the 2006 Act'), which gives power to the State to enforce its policy of reservation in private institutions also, but the State has arbitrarily not exercised such powers. The provisions of the 2006 Act have been upheld by a Full Bench of this Court in Navdeep Kaur Gill and others Vs. State of Punjab and others, 2014 3 SCT 110 and yet, the State has not enforced its powers thereunder reflecting a bias in favour of the private institutions. A similar Act of the State of Madhya Pradesh has been upheld by the Supreme Court of India in the case of Modern Dental College & Research Centre and others Vs. State of Madhya Pradesh and others, 2016 7 SCC 353, which implied that regulation of admission to private Medical institutions has been upheld by the Supreme Court as well. Thus, the action of the State in not including an appropriate quota for sports persons and TA/RA in private institutions while issuing Notification dated 6.6.2019, is illegal and arbitrary. Regarding the Corrigendum dated 11.7.2019, it is argued that reservation aforementioned has been confined to Government quota seats only without appreciating the ratio of Bani Suri (supra). Further, when a 1% quota can be provided to migrants from Jammu & Kashmir in the management quota seats, there is no reason why reservations for sports persons, RA/TA cannot be provided in the said quota seats. Moreover, confining of quota for migrants from Jammu & Kashmir to private institutions alone reflects non-application of mind.