Method of allocation of seats in courses not meeting quota for disabled: JNU concedes in HC

NEW DELHI: The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Tuesday conceded before the Delhi High Court that its method of allocation of seats for disabled did not achieve the mandate of five per cent reservation provided under the law.

The varsity's counsel agreed before a bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan that after the admissions were over the intake of disabled persons did not meet the five per cent quota provided under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPWD) Act.

"Even according to you (JNU), you are not meeting the five per cent reservation requirement in admission. Reservation provided under the statute is institution wise and not course-wise."

"Can you have an administrative allocation which results in not achieving the five per cent reservation in admission? If you are not realising the purpose behind the statute, then we have a problem," the bench said.

It further said, "You cannot juggle your allocation of seats in such a way that you achieve only 4 or 4.5 per cent reservation for PWD instead of 5 per cent or more. Ultimately, after filling up all the seats, you have to see whether you have realised the five per cent reservation for persons with disabilities (PWD)."

The high court also said that if JNU allocates seats for disabled persons in courses or centres where such students do not apply or there are few applications, then the varsity will not realise the five per cent reservation provided under the Act.

In July, JNU had told the court that it has never violated the mandate of five per cent reservation for disabled students and was committed to providing it in all courses in the 2020-21 academic year.

The high court was hearing a PIL by the Javed Abidi Foundation, which works for the welfare of disabled persons, claiming that JNU has kept less than five per cent seats for disabled category in the academic session 2020-21.

During the hearing, JNU's counsel, Monika Arora, said the issue will be placed before its executive council which will consider coming up with a better method of allocating seats to ensure the five per cent quota is met and urged the bench to dispose of the PIL by keeping the main issue open for the future.

The bench, however, did not agree and said, "We have to know for sure how you are going to ensure that the quota is met in admissions and not just on allocation on paper."

It listed the matter for further hearing on November 6 when JNU will indicate to the bench how it will ensure that the 5 per cent reservation criteria is met.