Bombay HC stays govt mandate for quota in minority institutions for Class 11 admissions

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Thursday granted an interim stay on the Maharashtra government's mandate to minority educational institutes to reserve seats for Schedule Castes/Schedule Tribes and Other Backward Classes for first-year junior college admissions.

A bench of Justices M S Karnik and N R Borkar passed the order on a bunch of petitions filed by some minority institutions, challenging the May 6 resolution issued by the government's school education and sports department applying the constitutional/social reservations in minority education institutes.

The high court said it found substance in the petitioners' arguments and hence the mandate of social reservation will not be applicable for Class 11 admissions in minority educational institutions.

The HC bench said it was granting a stay on the clause of the resolution that included minority educational institutes for the reservation.

It directed the government to file its affidavit in reply to the petitions and posted the matter for further hearing on August 6.

The high court on Wednesday questioned the government's rationale behind the resolution and asked if it was willing to withdraw the same or issue a corrigendum clarifying that minority institutes would not be included in the reservation.

On Thursday, government pleader Neha Bhide told the court that she has no instructions from the government to withdraw the resolution or issue a corrigendum.

As per the pleas, Article 15(5) of the Constitution excludes minority educational institutes, aided or unaided, from applicability of reservations for socially and educationally backward classes.

The petitions claimed that under Article 30(1) (right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions), the right of admission is exclusively with the management of the institution.

A similar GR (government resolution) was issued in 2019 but it was withdrawn after petitions were filed then, they said.