Bombay HC asks state govt to remove minority colleges from the scope of reservations

The court was acting upon a petition filed by two minority institutions which claimed that under article 30 (1) of the Indian Constitution, all minorities, whether religious or linguistic, had the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court, on Wednesday, questioned the resolution the state government had issued on May 6 which directed minority educational institutions in the state to implement constitutional and social reservations in First Year Junior College (FYJC) admissions.

Bombay HC asks state govt to remove minority colleges from the scope of reservations

The court was acting upon a petition filed by two minority institutions which claimed that under article 30 (1) of the Indian Constitution, all minorities, whether religious or linguistic, had the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.

Justice M S Karnik and justice N R Borkar asked the government pleader Neha Bhide to check whether the government was willing to correct the resolution so that minority unaided institutions would be exempt from reservations.

The court said that this could just be a mistake by the government for which a correction can be issued, and scheduled the next hearing of the petition on Thursday. The court added that an order from the court was not necessary when it came to making such corrections.

The government resolution directing the implementation of reservations for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes in FYJC admissions to colleges governed by minority institutions was challenged on the ground that such institutions, both aided or unaided, are excluded from applying such reservations for socially and educationally backward classes under article 15 (5) of the Indian Constitution. A similar resolution passed in 2019 was also withdrawn after it was challenged in the court.