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Synopsis

A division bench of the Bombay High Court has recently denied interim relief to two abandoned young girls who sought directions to be issued to the state government to grant them reservation as orphans in the 1% horizontal quota.

The division bench of the high court comprising Justice Sunil B Shukre and Justice Fridosh P Pooniwala was hearing a plea of 2 girls seeking admission to the medical college till the issuance of the orphan certificate.

Dr. Abhinav Chandrachud, representing the abandoned girls, argued that the Government Resolution violated Article 14 of the Indian Constitution as it discriminated between orphans and abandoned children. He contended that there was no rational connection between the objectives of the horizontal reservation policy.

Additionally, Dr. Chandrachud argued that both orphans and abandoned children require protection, and discriminating between the two for horizontal reservation purposes is unconstitutional and goes against Article 14 of the Indian Constitution. He also argued that the term "orphan" in the Government Resolution could be interpreted to include abandoned children.

Advocate General Birendra Saraf, representing the state, argued that the institution that had filed the plea was not registered under the Woman and Child Department and was not recognized by any other department. As a result, it was difficult to verify if the two girls were indeed orphans.

Saraf also contended that if abandoned children were included in the resolution, it could lead to potential abuse and misuse of the policy.

The court, in response, denied interim relief, stating that granting such relief at this stage would be equivalent to granting a final relief, which was not permissible.

The bench added that if a final order in favour of the petitioner was not issued during the final hearing, it could deprive other orphans of seats in the medical course.

“There is one more reason for declining the interim relief sought by the Petitioners. If the said interim relief sought is granted, and if at the final hearing of this Petition, this Court decides against the Petitioners, then the same would amount to depriving some other Orphans of seats in the medical courses in which the Petitioners are seeking admission. Even though the Petitioners have submitted that they would not claim any equities if interim relief sought by them is granted, the same would still deprive other Orphans of two seats in the medical course. For this reason also, we are not inclined to grant the interim relief sought by the Petitioner,” the order reads.

Case title: Nest India Foundation Ors vs State of Maharashtra