IMPORTANT POINT
Admission in professional colleges must be made on the basis of merit so as to secure the best possible talent.

Headnote:EDUCATION-Reservation of seats for wards of employees in matter of admission to institutions imparting technical education-University decision not to permit the institutions to continue with reservation in view of judgment of this Court in J.P. Unni Krishnan s case, 1993(1) SCC 645-Whether sustainable ?-(Yes)-High Court was justified in holding that no quota can be reserved for management or for any family, caste or community which may have established the college-Reservation in favour of wards of college and mill/school staff of the Institution does not satisfy test of admission being given strictly on basis of merit as laid down by this Court, so impermissible.
       Held that the four additional seats for which reservation was made for the wards of the college and mill/school staff of the T.I.T. & S. are in addition to 90 seats and admission is made on the basis of marks obtained in the Entrance Examination conducted by the respondent-University. But for the purpose of admission to these four seats a separate merit list is drawn in respect of the candidates who are eligible for these seats and admission is not made according to merit as reflected in the common merit list. Such reservation in favour of wards of the college and mill/school staff of the T.I.T. & S. does not satisfy the test of admission being given strictly on the basis of merit as laid down by this Court and has been rightly held to be impermissible by the High Court. The said appeal is, therefore, liable to be dismissed. (Para 9)
       In the context of admission to an institution imparting higher education in professional courses a question has often arisen whether the State can make provision giving preferential treatment to candidates seeking admission to the institution. In dealing with this question the approach of this Court has been that such preferential treatment must be consistent with the mandate of Article 14 of the Constitution guaranting equality of opportunity and that though reasonable classification is permissible, such classification must have a reasonable nexus with object of the rules providing such admission, namely, to select the most meritorious amongst the candidates to have advantage of such education. (Para 6)

JUDGMENT

S.C. Agrawal, J.-Special leave granted in S.L.Ps. (C) Nos. 10132 of 1995 and 10224 of 1995.

2. These appeals and the writ petition raise common questions relating to reservation of seats for wards of employees in the matter of admission to institutions imparting technical education. The appeals are directed against the judgment of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana dated September 2, 1994. We will first take up the appeals.

3. Civil Appeal No. 4101 of 1995 relates to the Technological Institute of Textile and Science at Bhiwani in the State of Haryana (for short the T.I.T. & S. ). The T.I.T. & S. is a society registered under the West Bengal Societies Registration Act, 1961. It is running a technical institute which imparts education/training in Textile Technology, Textile Chemistry, Computer Science and Management Science leading to the award of B. Tech/M. Tech/M.M.S. Degrees. The T.I.T. & S. is affiliated to the Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak (hereinafter referred to as the respondent-University ). The T.I.T. & S. also owns and runs a textile mill under the same roof employing about 1500 workers wherein the students receive practical training under the actual mill working conditions. The normal intake in the B. Tech. Course of the T.I.T. & S. is 90 students each year and admission to these 90 seats is made according to merit on the basis of a competitive entrance test conducted by the respondent-University. In addition to the aforesaid 90 seats, the T.I.T. & S. has provided four additional seats for the wards of the employees of the appellant-Institute. These seats are available to the wards of only those employees who have put in minimum 10 years service in the T.I.T. & S. Two of these four seats are available in Computer Science and the other two in Textiles. Out of these four seats two seats are earmarked for college staff and two seats for mill/school staff. As per the rules prescribed for admission effective since academic session 1991-92, in order to be eligible for admission the candidate is required to have at least 60 marks in the aggregate of three subjects (Physics, Chemistry and Maths) at 10+2 examination and admission is to be made on the basis of merit to be earned according to the marks secured in the Entrance Examination conducted by the respondent-University. Seats earmarked for college and mill//school staff can be inter-changed in case there is no eligible candidate in one particular group and if a seat allotted for Computer Course is not desired by the allottee, he shall be offered a seat in the Textile Course and, if any seat remains vacant, the requirement of service period may be relaxed with prior approval of the Chairman of the Society. Normally this facility for wards of the staff is available for one seat for one employee s child but in no case it can be extended to more than two children. The wards of the employees who secure admission on their own merit or on reserved seats of wards are eligible for freeship. The T.I.T. & S. does not receive any financial aid either from the State Government or the Central Government or the respondent-University or any other local authority. By letter dated July 15, 1993, the respondent-University conveyed its decision not to permit the T.I.T. & S. to continue with the reservation of seats for the wards of the staff of the T.I.T. & S. in the B. Tech Course in view of the judgment of this Court in J.P. Unni Krishnan and Others v. State of Andhra Pradesh and Orthers1, and the T.I.T. & S. was directed not to make any admission under this category. Feeling aggrieved by the said order of the respondent-University, the T.I.T. & S. filed a Writ Petition (C.W.P. No. 9296 of 1993) in the High Court of Punjab and Haryana which has been dismissed by the impugned judgment of the High Court dated September 2, 1994.

4. Civil Appeals arising out of S.L.Ps. Nos. 10132 of 1995 and 10224 of 1995 relate to the Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology, Patiala (f

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1996 Supreme(SC) 2137

IMPORTANT POINTAdmission in professional colleges must be made on the basis of merit so as to secure the best possible talent.

Cases Referred (10)

IMPORTANT POINT
Admission in professional colleges must be made on the basis of merit so as to secure the best possible talent.