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Court issued notice to the respondents, asking the university as well as the Centre to file their response to the petition within three weeks. The matter is next listed on July 7.
The Delhi High Court has sought the stand of Jamia Milia Islamia (JMI) University on a plea challenging its decision to approve religion-based reservation for appointments to teaching and non-teaching posts while abolishing the quota under the scheduled caste and scheduled tribe categories.
The bench of Justice Vikas Mahajan last week observed the matter required consideration and asked the varsity as well as the Centre to file their response to the petition within three weeks. Accordingly, the court listed the matter for further consideration on July 7.
“It appears that the matter requires consideration. Issue notice. Let counter affidavit be filed within three weeks. In the meanwhile, the Respondent University is directed to keep one post vacant for the petitioners in each category [i.e. –(i) Assistant Registrar, (ii)Section Officer and, (iii)LDC (lower divisional clerk), under which they have applied. It is clarified that the recruitment process, as such, has not been stayed”, the court ordered.
The single-judge bench was hearing a plea by Ram Niwas Singh and Sanjay Kumar Meena, who belong to SC and ST communities, respectively. They moved the High Court after JMI advertised 241 non-teaching posts through its advertisement dated April 29.
The petitioners contended that the exclusion of SC/ST category candidates from reservation policy was a "wrong" committed against the constitutional mandate. The petitioner no. 1, Ram Niwas Singh, a Scheduled Caste (SC) category candidate, applied for the post of Assistant Registrar and Section Officer while petitioner No. 2, Sanjay Kumar Meena, a Scheduled Tribe (ST) category candidate, had applied for the post of Lower Division Clerk.
During the hearing, the court’s attention was brought to the Resolution dated June 23, 2014 passed by the Executive Counsel of the University whereby it has been resolved that the University is now Minority institution and it is not bound to follow the Reservation Policy of Government of India as it is exempted under Article 30 (1) of the Constitution of India.
The senior counsel appearing for the petitioners submitted that the the “ordinance 6 (VI) (Academic)” which provides for “reservation of seats and other special provision for admission” based on religious belief has been made applicable also to the teaching and non-teaching positions in the terms of the resolution of 2014.
He further argued that the advertisement and the resolution were “contrary to the constitutional scheme of reservation besides being contrary to the statutory scheme”, as, Section 7 of the Jamia Milia Islamia Act, 1988 mandates that the university shall be open to “all classes, castes and creed and it shall not be lawful for the university to adopt or impose on any person any test whatsoever of religious belief or profession to entitle him to be admitted therein as a student or staff”.
The court noted that the grievance of the petitioners was that no reservation has been extended to Sc and ST candidates by the JMI University, which is a central university. “Issue notice. Mr. Pritish Sabharwal, learned standing counsel accepts notice on behalf of the respondents. Let counter affidavit be filed within three weeks. Rejoinder, if any, be filed before the next date”, the court said.
Case Title: Ram Niwas Singh & Anr. v. Jamia Milia Islamia University & Ors.
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