Students holding older caste certificates may be accommodated in entrance examinations if they furnish updated certificates as per the prevailing notification within a court-mandated timeframe.

THIS WP IS FILED UNDER ARTICLES 226 AND 227 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA PRAYING TO ISSUE A WRIT OF CERTIORARI AND QUASH THE NOTIFICATION AT ANNEXURE-A PASSED BY THE RESPONDENT NO.1 DATED 25/08/2025 VIDE NUMBER SA KA E 8 SLP2024 AND THE NOTIFICATION AT ANNEXURE B VIDE NO.ED/KEA/ADALITHA/CR-04/2026 DATED 20/01/2026 AND ANNEXURE-C DATED 30/01/2026, PASSED BY THE RESPONDENT NO.2 RESPECTIVELY IN SO FAR AS IT PERTAINS TO THE PETITIONERS AND ETC.,

THIS PETITION, COMING ON FOR FURTHER HEARING, THIS DAY, ORDER WAS MADE THEREIN AS UNDER:

CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE JAYANT BANERJI

and

HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE TARA VITASTA GANJU

ORAL ORDER

(PER: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE JAYANT BANERJI)

1. This petition has been filed seeking the following reliefs:

“A) Writ of Certiorari and Quash the Notification at Annexure-A passed by the Respondent No.1 dated 25/08/2025 vide number Sa Ka E 8 SLP2024 and the Notification at Annexure-B vide No.ED/KEA/adalitha/CR 04/2026 dated 20/01/2026 and Annexure-C dated 30/01/2026, passed by the Respondent No.2 respectively in so far as it pertains to the petitioners.

B) Any other writ order or direction that this Hon’ble court deems just in the circumstances of the matter.”

2. At the outset learned counsel for the petitioners has stated that in view of the submissions made by respondent No.2 in para 3 of the statement of objections filed today, he is forsaking the challenge to the Notifications and prays that the relief be moulded in the interest of the petitioners who are students.

3. The contention of learned counsel for the petitioners is that the petitioners had obtained Scheduled Caste Certificates in the year 2017-18. It is submitted that those Caste Certificates are valid Caste Certificates. It is contended that by means of the impugned Notification, new Caste Certificates duly updated by classifying the applicants under one of the internal reservation categories, are being sought by the respondent No.2. Therefore the petitioners are unable to register themselves online as eligible candidates for the Common Entrance Test-2026 Examinations.

4. Today, the learned counsel for the respondent No.2 has filed a statement of objection, justifying the action of the respondents. We note that a statement of objection had also been filed by the learned Additional Government Advocate on 10.04.2026 and a Memo for Production of Document on 19.06.2026 in which they have sought to justify the Notification. It has also been brought to our notice that there is a Public Interest Litigation (Writ Petition No.200448/2025) pending before a Co-ordinate Bench of this Court challenging, inter alia, the Notifications impugned in the present petition.

5. It is stated by the learned Additional Advocate General appearing for the State that, initially in the Public Interest Litigation, the implementation of reservation of 56% was challenged, but thereafter several other petitions have been tagged to the aforesaid petition in which the Notifications impugned in the present petition are also under challenge.

6. However, in para 3 of the statement of objection filed on behalf of the respondent No.2 today, it is stated as follows:

“3. This Respondent herewith produces the copy of the Online CET Applications filed by the Petitioners as Annexures R-1, R-2 and R-3 respectively. A perusal of the application reveal that the Petitioners have shown their Reservation Category as SC-'Beda Jangama'. The Certificates issued to the Petitioners is of the year 2017. T