NLSIU releases student numbers, says it is following reservation

BENGALURU: The National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru, has released the number of Karnataka students admitted since 2021, stating that the university has followed the reservation ‘in letter and spirit’.

On Friday, NLSIU released the number of Karnataka students admitted to the law programmes and total number of students from the academic years 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24, which showed that the university has maintained the local reservation of 25%. “In Academic Year 2024-25, the number of Karnataka students admitted to law programmes at NLSIU is projected to increase to 135 with increases to overall student intake. In Academic Year 2026-27, the minimum number of Karnataka students studying law programmes at the University will increase to around 500 students. As set out above, NLSIU has implemented the Karnataka Student reservation in letter and spirit,” NLSIU said in a statement.

In 2020, the state government had amended the NLSIU Act, stipulating the NLSIU Bengaluru would need to provide 25 per cent of its seats to Karnataka students. NLSIU pointed out that the amendment made to the NLSIU Act had been struck down by the Karnataka High Court, which said the government had no power to direct NLSIU to provide reservations.

While the Karnataka government had approached the Supreme Court through a Special Leave Petition, no interim order has been given, NLSIU said. “Hence, the judgement of the Hon’ble High Court is the applicable law to the matter,” they stated.

Higher Education Minister Dr Ashwath Narayan on Friday issued a letter to NLSIU, stating that the university has not been following the local reservation of 25 per cent to Karnataka students for the last two years. “It is a violation of government rules that the students of the state selected on the basis of merit under the All India Quota are being brought under the ambit of this reservation.

This is against the principle of natural justice,” the minister said. The letter came following orders from Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J C Madhu Swamy to NLSIU asking them to stick to the reservation.