New Delhi: The Supreme Court has directed Punjab government to provide a 3% reservation in sports quota instead of 1% in the state-run medical, and dental colleges, rejecting the high court verdict.
The verdict of the apex court against the appeal of Punjab government challenged the 2019 common judgment of the high court.
In the judgment, the Punjab HC directed the release of fresh notification to provide 3% sports quota, instead of 1% as decided by the executives, in government-run medical and dental colleges in Punjab.
According to the high court, 1% quota will be provided for the children/ grandchildren of terrorist affected persons/ Sikh riots affected persons in all private unaided non-minority Medical/Dental institutions in the state.
It was also directed the reservation for terrorist and Sikh riots affected candidates will be eligible to apply for the management seats alongside medical seats.
A bench consisting Justices M R Shah and B V Nagarathna dealt in detail with the validity of the High Court order to enhance the sports quota reservation from 1 to 3% in government medical and dental colleges and decided not to deal with the other aspect of the verdict.
The question arises whether the high court was right in providing 1% quota for children or grandchildren of terrorist or riots affected persons in admissions has become “academic” as Punjab has now provided the reservation, the judgement said, adding that the “question of law” would remain open.
As per the judgment, as far as the high court's second direction is concerned, it instructed to provide a 3% of sports quota in Punjab Government Medical and Dental Colleges, and the same was hereby quashed and set aside by observing that no writ of mandamus could have been issued by the High Court.
The bench of justices dealt with the part of the high court order enhancing sports quota, and referred to various apex court verdicts and said that the court will issue the writ of mandamus directing the State Government to provide for reservation in the sports quota.
The justices said that they are of the opinion that the High Court has committed a grave error in issuing a writ of mandamus and instructing the Punjab Government to provide for 3% reservation/ quota for sportspersons, instead of 1 % as provided by the State Government.
The state government has taken a conscious policy decision to provide one per cent reservation/ quota for sports candidates. Therefore, the high court has exceeded its jurisdiction while issuing a writ of mandamus instructing the State to provide a particular percentage of reservation for sportspersons.
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According to the 20-page judgment, While quashing the unsustainable high court verdict and writing the judgment, Justice Shah, said that the state government has taken a conscious policy decision of providing only one per cent reservation/ quota for sportspersons.
Earlier, several petitions were filed in the high court against the government’s notification on 2019 by which “1% reservation for sportspersons; 1% reservation for children/grandchildren of terrorist affected persons and 1% reservation for children/grandchildren of Sikh riot-affected persons in the State quota seats in government-run medical, and dental colleges” were provided.
The high court had allowed these pleas and had issued several directions including the enhancement of the sports quota from one to three per cent.
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