Minority colleges to challenge ‘illegal’ govt reservations in FYJC seats in HC

The controversy began when minority colleges noticed discrepancies after the state uploaded the 2025-26 seat matrix on its official portal

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra Association of Minority Educational Institutions (MAMEI), along with some minority colleges from the city, will file a petition in the Bombay high court on Wednesday, challenging social reservations in the First Year Junior College (FYJC) admission process for 2025-26 for vacant seats in minority colleges.

Mumbai, India - July 12, 2019: Students and parents check the first merit list of FYJC, put up outside H R college at Churchgate in Mumbai, India, on Friday, July 12, 2019. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/Hindustan Times) (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT Photo)

The association claims the state has, without official notification, altered the seat allocation on the centralised admission portal by applying Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), and Other Backward Class (OBC) quotas to Open Category seats in minority colleges. This, they argue, violates long-established legal protections granted to minority institutions.

According to MAMEI, minority colleges follow a court-approved structure, 50% seats for the minority community, 10% in-house, 5% management and 35% general category—which includes sports and ex-servicemen quotas. The association says this structure has been upheld repeatedly by both the Bombay high court and the Supreme Court, including in a 2001 case where a similar state attempt was struck down.

Despite a formal letter to school education minister Dada Bhuse, the association says no response was received, prompting it to take legal action. “The government is bypassing the legal framework without even issuing a proper resolution or circular,” said a representative.

Four Jain minority colleges—including institutions in Nagpur—have already filed separate petitions before the Bombay high court and its Nagpur bench. Another petition has been submitted by Solapur’s Walchand College. Christian colleges from Nagpur may also join the legal fight.

The controversy began when minority colleges noticed discrepancies after the state uploaded the 2025-26 seat matrix on its official portal. On June 10, through a government resolution, the government again clarified that minority colleges can fill 50% seats from their respective communities. The remaining vacant seats could be passed on to other minorities and, if still unfilled, surrendered to the central pool where, it claimed, standard reservations apply.