Executive Orders Fixing Reservation Can't Override Statutory Mandate of UP Reservation Act 2006: Allahabad High Court

Allahabad High Court Strikes Down Over 70% Reservation in Four UP Medical Colleges, Orders Fresh Admissions

LUCKNOW: The Allahabad High Court, in a significant ruling, has quashed government orders that implemented a reservation policy providing for over 70% of seats to reserved categories in four state-run medical colleges. Justice Pankaj Bhatia held that executive orders cannot override the statutory mandate of the Uttar Pradesh Reservation Act of 2006, which caps reservation at 50%.

The court has directed the State of Uttar Pradesh to conduct a fresh admission process for the MBBS seats in these colleges, strictly adhering to the reservation percentages prescribed in the 2006 Act.

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Background of the Case

The petition was filed by Sabra Ahmad, a NEET-2025 aspirant who scored 523 marks. She challenged the seat matrix for four Government Medical Colleges located in Ambedkar Nagar, Kannauj, Jalaun, and Saharanpur. The petitioner argued that the reservation implemented in these colleges far exceeded the constitutionally permissible 50% ceiling, reaching approximately 79% in the state quota, thereby illegally jeopardizing her chances of admission based on merit.

Arguments Presented

Petitioner's Counsel, Moti Lal Yadav, argued:

- The reservation policy in the four impugned colleges violates the U.P. Admission to Educational Institutions (Reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes) Act, 2006, which provides for 21% SC, 2% ST, and 27% OBC reservation.

- The implemented quota breaches the 50% reservation limit established by the Supreme Court in Indra Sawhney v. Union of India .

State's Counsel, Vinod Kumar Shahi (Additional Advocate General), contended:

- The medical colleges were established using funds from the Central Government's 'Special Component Plan' (SCP).

- Government Orders (GOs) were issued based on central guidelines for the SCP, which stipulated that institutions set up under the plan should benefit 70% SC/ST students and 30% from the general population.

- This exceptional reservation was a condition tied to the central funding and therefore justified.

Court's Analysis and Reasoning

Justice Pankaj Bhatia meticulously dismantled the state's justification, finding it legally untenable. The court held that the state's GOs were founded on a "misreading and misinterpretation" of the central government's policy guidelines.

The judgment emphasized several key points:

- Statutory Law Prevails: The U.P. Reservation Act of 2006 is a binding statute that applies to all educational institutions in the state. Section 4 of this Act clearly defines the percentage of vertical reservation, totaling 50%. The executive GOs cannot contravene this legislative mandate.

- Misinterpretation of Central Guidelines: The court observed that the SCP guidelines were policy decisions related to funding, expenditure, and providing facilities like hostels (70% for SC/ST students), not for fixing admission quotas at the entry stage. The guidelines did not authorize or mandate the state to bypass its own reservation laws.

- Violation of 50% Rule: The court noted that the reservation implemented through the GOs "clearly violated the reasonably well settled rule of not exceeding 50% that too without any authority of law and as such, the same cannot be justified."

In a crucial passage, the court stated:

"The Government Orders fixing reservation are clearly contrary to the mandate of Section 4 of the Act, 2006 or any other law. Otherwise, also are founded on misreading and misinterpretation of the policy guidelines issued by the Central Government... The reservation has clearly violated the reasonably well settled rule of not exceeding 50% that too without any authority of law and as such, the same cannot be justified."

Final Decision and Implications

The High Court allowed the writ petition and quashed all the government orders—dated between 2010 and 2015—that prescribed the excessive reservation quotas for the medical colleges in Ambedkar Nagar, Kannauj, Jalaun, and Saharanpur.

The court directed the state to "fill the seats in the said four colleges afresh strictly based upon the reservation as prescribed under the Reservation Act of 2006." As the seats for the current session were already filled based on the flawed policy, the authorities will now have to undertake a fresh exercise to re-allocate the seats in compliance with the court's order, ensuring the total reservation for SC, ST, and OBC candidates does not exceed 50%. This landmark decision reaffirms the supremacy of statutory law over executive policy and upholds the 50% reservation ceiling in educational admissions.