ORDER

1. Special leave granted in all the petitions.

2. These appeals are directed against the judgment and order of the High Court of Allahabad issuing interim orders directing the provisional admission of the respondent-students to the B.Tech. course of the G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pant Nagar, against the reserved quota of 5 percent towards sons, daughters and spouses of the employees of the University.

3. The State Government of U.P. issued a notification in December 1988 directing that admission on students to the various Engineering Institutions in the State shall be made in the order of merit and through a combined Entrance Examination to be conducted by an Admission Committee. The College of Technology, G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pant Nagar, was one of the institution covered by the said notification. According to the Scheme as contained in the notification, the Admission Committee was required to be hold a combined Entrance Examination for all the technical institutions in the State and candidates to be selected on merit and allotted to the institutions based on their choice and merit as determined on the basis of the marks obtained by them in the Entrance Examination. The brochure of the combined Entrance Examination, 1990-91 issued by the University contained an information that the University has provided for reservation of 5 percent seats over and above the sanctioned strength of seats of the sons and wards of the employees of the University. The respondent-students, who are the sons and wards of the employees of the University, appeared at the combined Entrance Examination held in 1990 for the session commencing in February 1991. In August 1990 the result of the combined Entrance Examination was declared but the University did not declare the result of reserved quota of sons and wards of the employees of the University.

4. It appears that the University was interested in giving the benefit of 5 percent reservation to the sons and wards of the employees of the University, but the State Government insisted that such reservation was not justified and would be contrary to constitutional provisions. The University accepted the directions issued by the State Government, and decided to do away with the reservation of seats for the sons and wards of the employees of the University. It is on account of that the decision that the result for the reserved quota of 5 percent for the sons and wards of the employees of the University was not declared. Since the respondent-students failed to qualify for admission in the general category of candidates, they filed writ petitions under Article 226 of the Constitution before the High Court of Allahabad claiming admission to the University against the reserved quota of 5 percent as aforesaid. A learned Single Judge of the High Court issued interim orders directing the University authorities to provisionally admit the respondent-students in the B.Tech. course and to permit them to continue their studies. The appellants preferred these appeals against the aforesaid interim orders of the High Court.

5. After hearing learned counsel for the parties and having regard to the facts and circumstances of the case, we are of the opinion that the High Court was not justified in issuing the interim orders. There is no dispute that the G. B. Pant University is aided and financed by the State Government and University is an instrumentality of the State. Any instrumentality of the State cannot give preferential treatment to a class of persons without there being justification for the same. The reservation of seats for admission to the B.Tech. course in favour of the sons and wards of the employees of the University is violative of the doctrine of equality enshrined under Article 14 of the constitution. There is no rationale for the reservation of the seats in favour of the sons and wards of the employees of the University nor such any reservation