Altering admission criteria during an ongoing selection process violates established principles of fairness and Article 16 rights, emphasizing the necessity of adhering to initially published rules.

JUDGMENT :

B.R. SARANGI, J.

The petitioner, being a minor, has filed this writ petition represented through her father guardian seeking direction to opposite party no.4, Principal, Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Bagudi, Balasore to admit her in Class-VI taking into consideration her caste certificate.

2. The factual matrix of the case, in hand, is that in accordance with the National Policy of Education (1986), Government of India started Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs). Presently, the JNVs are spread in 28 States and 7 Union Territories. The JNVs are co-educational residential schools fully financed and administered by Government of India through an autonomous organization, Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti. Admissions to Class VI in JNVs are made through Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas Selection Test (JNVST). The medium of instruction in JNVs is the mother tongue or regional language up to Class VIII and thereafter ‘English’ for Mathematics and Science and ‘Hindi’ for Social Science. Students of the JNVs appear for board examinations of the Central Board of Secondary Education. While education in the schools is free including boarding & lodging, uniform and textbooks, a sum of Rs. 600/- per month is collected only from the students of Classes IX to XII towards Vidyalaya Vikas Nidhi. However, students belonging to SC/ST categories, all Girl students and the students whose family income is below poverty line (BPL) are exempted. In respect of wards of Government employees other than exempted category (Students of Classes VI to VIII, all SC/ST & girl students and wards of BPL families) Vikas Nidhi are charged @ Rs.1500/- per month or actual children education allowance received by the parent per month whichever is less. However, VVN (Vidyalaya Vikas Nidhi) shall not be less than Rs.600/- per student per month.

2.1 The objectives of the scheme are to provide good quality modern education including a strong component of culture, inculcation of values, awareness of the environment, adventure activities and physical education to the talented children predominantly from rural areas; to ensure that students attain a reasonable level of competency in three languages; to promote national integration through migration of students from Hindi to non-Hindi speaking State and vice-versa; and to serve in each district as focal point for improvement in quality of school education in general through sharing of experiences and facilities.

2.2 In order to have the admission for the academic year 2020, Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti issued a prospectus for Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya Selection Test-2020, vide Annexure-1, for admission to Class-VI. As per the prospectus, the candidates were to apply for JNV Selection Test as per the procedure envisaged thereunder. In pursuance of such prospectus, the petitioner applied for admission in Class-VI of JNV, Bagudi in prescribed form. In the bio-data prescribed for submission of application clearly indicates the category General, OBC, SC and ST. As the petitioner belonged to SEBC category, she had given tick mark under the heading OBC, because SEBC category was not mentioned in the application form itself. As per the scheduled date and time prescribed in the prospectus, the petitioner appeared the test with necessary admit card issued. After the examination was over on 11.01.2020, a notice was issued on 31.03.2020 that reservation of seats for SC and ST students would be made in proportion to their population in the district concerned subject to minimum of national average and maximum of 50% for both the categories taken together and 27% reservation