The State has the authority to make special provisions for socially and educationally backward classes, and reservation itself is not a matter of right but an enabling provision.

JUDGMENT :

The petitioners participated in the NEET Examination, 2021 conducted by the 6th respondent for admission to Medical Courses in Kerala. The petitioners belong to Scheduled Caste community and they are entitled for reservation under SC/ST category. As per the Prospectus and various Government Orders, 10% of the Government seats in Government Medical Colleges is reserved for SC/ST candidates.

2. In Clause 4.1.5 of Ext.P2 Prospectus, the 6th respondent imposed a condition that the SC/ST candidates shall be allotted seats after leaving the seats set apart for All India quota, Government of India Nominees, Special reservations, Persons with Disabilities, all types of supernumerary seats sanctioned and management quota. Clause 4.1.3 provided that Persons with Disabilities shall be given 5% of the seats only after leaving the seats set apart under Clauses 4.1.1 and 4.1.2. Therefore, the two classes entitled for reservation are discriminated among them and such adoption of criteria lead to the marginal decrease in the available seats for the SC/ST candidates and therefore the petitioners seek to quash Clause 4.1.5 of Ext.P2 Prospectus by filing this writ petition.

3. The learned counsel for the petitioners argued that the condition prescribed in Clause 4.1.5 of Ext.P2 Prospectus leaving the seats set apart for All India Quota, Government of India nominees, Special Reservations, Persons with Disabilities, all types of supernumerary seats sanctioned and management quota and the distribution of remaining Government seats to the candidates belongs to SC/ST is highly arbitrary, unreasonable and violative of the principle of equality enshrined in Article 14 of the Constitution and hence liable to be interdicted.

4. The reservation for persons with disabilities was introduced after granting of special status to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and also the Constitution of India provides special status for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Article 46 provides that “the State shall promote with special care, the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people, and in particular, of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, and shall protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation.” While providing reservation to persons with disabilities, the 6th respondent adopted a criteria to reserve 5% of the seats available after leaving the seats set apart under Clauses 4.1.1 and 4.1.2. However, while granting reservation to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, the 6th respondent adopted a different criteria by reserving seats leaving the seats set apart under Clauses 4.1.1, 4.1.2, 4.1.3 and 4.1.4 resulting in marginal reduction of number of seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The above criteria adopted by the 6th respondent is highly arbitrary, illegal and unconstitutional. The constitutional mandates available for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are taken away by the 6th respondent by introducing Clause 4.1.3 in such a style permitting to grant reservation of 5% of seats after leaving the seats set apart under Clauses 4.1.1 and 4.1.2 and therefore Clauses 4.1.3 and 4.1.5 are liable to be declared as unconstitutional.

5. The 6th respondent-Commissioner of Examinations opposed the writ petition. The 6th respondent stated that the enabling provisions contained in the Constitution enable the State from making any special provisions by law for the advancement of socially and economically backward citizens or for the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes in the matter of admission to educational institutions. As it is evident, it is for the State to decide as to how the principle of reservation is to be applied. The petitioners cannot maintain a prayer seeking a direction to adopt different criteria from that adopted by the State. In the given context, the persons with disabilities form a distinct and homogenous class and the quota reserving seats to persons hav