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TMI Blog2022 (1) TMI 1373X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... after the amendment of the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006 For short "the Reservation Act", in the year 2012, on introduction of the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Amendment Act, 2012 For short 'the Amendment Act", Respondent No. 1-Manipur University 'University' is required to follow the reservation norms of 2% for the candidates belonging to Scheduled Caste [SC], 31% for the Scheduled Tribes [ST] and 17% for the Other Backward Classes [OBC] for purposes of admission in the University. 2. To contextualize the issue raised in the present appeal, it is necessary to briefly refer to the relevant facts of the case. Respondent No. 1 - University was initially established as a 'State University' under the Manipur University Act, 1980 that came into force on 05th June, 1980. In the year 2005, the Manipur University Act was legislated, whereafter Respondent No. 1 - University was converted from a 'State University' to a 'Central University' w.e.f. 13th October, 2005. On 04th January, 2007, the Reservation Act was notified. Section 3 of the said Act prescribed reservation of seats in th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006 (5 of 2007) (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act), after Clause (i), the following clauses shall be inserted, namely: (ia) "Specified north-eastern region" means the area comprising of the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura and the tribal areas of Assam referred to in the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution; (ib) "State seats", in relation to a Central Educational Institution, means such seats, if any, out of the annual permitted strength in each branch of study or faculty as are earmarked to be filled from amongst the eligible students of the State in which such institution is situated; SECTION-3. Amendment of Section 3.-In Section 3 of the principal Act, the following provisos shall be inserted, namely:"Provided that the State seats, if any, in a Central Educational Institution situated in the tribal areas referred to in the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution shall be governed by such reservation policy for the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and the Other Backward Classes, as may be specified, by notification in the Official Gazette, by the Governme ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... elonging to Other Backward Classes. Provided that nothing in this Section shall be deemed to prevent the University from making special provisions for admission of women, persons with disabilities or of persons belonging to the weaker Sections of the society and, in particular, of the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and the other socially and educationally backward classes of citizens. Provided further that no such special provision shall be made on the ground of domicile. [emphasis supplied] 6. While Rule 1 of Ordinance 5.4 deals with reservation of seats, Rule 2 deals with reservation of seats for students belonging to SC & ST categories. Respondent No. 1 - University has stipulated in Rule 2.1 of Ordinance 5.4 as below: 2. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes 22.5% of seats in all Courses will be reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes candidates in the following order: 2.1 15% of seats will be reserved for Scheduled Castes and 7.5% Scheduled Tribes. 27% of seats will be reserved for OBC. 7. For the academic year 2014-15, Respondent No. 1 - University issued a prospectus, stating inter alia that seats shall be reserved as per the Government of Ind ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Reservation Act [as amended vide Amendment Act] and the effect of Ordinance 5.2 and Ordinance 5.4, promulgated by the Respondent No. 1 - University. It is on remand that the impugned judgment dated 21st August, 2017 has been passed by the High Court of Manipur, the concluding para whereof is extracted below for ready reference: [71] This Court accordingly, concludes and directs as follows: (i) This Court holds, as also held by Hon'ble Division Bench, that the Second Proviso provides the formulae for working out the percentage of reservation for the OBCs in the Institutions located in the States within the specified north eastern region which is to be worked out on the basis of the figures of percentages for the SCs and STs existing on the date immediately preceding the date of commencement of the Act of 2006. (ii) It is this set of figures of percentages for the SCs and STs existing on the date immediately preceding the date of commencement of the Act of 2006 ascertained and used for working out the percentage of reservation for the OBCs, which would also be the percentages of reservation for admission for the SCs and STs after the amendment of the Central Educational In ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 6 as amended in 2012 and not on the basis of any other statute. In the present case, the Manipur University has to fix the percentages of reservation for the SCs, STs and OBCs on the basis of the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006 as amended in 2012 and not on the basis of Section 31(1)(a) or any other provision of the Manipur University Act, 2005 as the Manipur University Act is no more the source of authority for determining the percentages of reservation after the implementation of the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006. (vi) The reservation norm has to be adopted by the Manipur University by referring to the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006 as amended by the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Amendment Act, 2012 only and by not referring to any provision of the Manipur University Act, 2005. (vii) Accordingly, any Statute or Ordinance or any Rule or notification fixing the percentage of reservation for admission framed/issued by the Manipur University has to conform to the aforesaid norm of 2% for the Scheduled Castes, 31 % for the Scheduled Tri ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Punam Kumari, learned Counsel for the Appellants has assailed the impugned judgment contending that the High Court has erred in taking a view that the proviso inserted vide the Amendment Act, would be applicable to a Central Educational Institution For short "the CEI" located in States falling within the "Specified north eastern region" and that the extent of reservation would have to be worked out on the basis of the figures of percentage for the SCs and STs, as was existing on the date immediately preceding the date of commencement of the Reservation Act. It is her submission that the amendments brought about by the Amendment Act are only in respect of tribal States falling under the purview of the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution of India For short "the Constitution" and not in respect of other States including a State like Manipur falling under "Specified north eastern region", defined in the amended Section 2(ia) of the Parent Act [Reservation Act]. 12. Learned Counsel for the Appellants sought to draw a distinction between the amended Section 2(ia) that defines "Specified north eastern region" and the amended Section 3 by virtue of the Amendment Act by urging that Clause ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... lates that the percentage of reservation for SC and ST candidates earmarked in Section 3 of the Parent Act could be increased even to the detriment of the earmarked percentage of reservation for OBC candidates, to ensure that the overall limit of 50% reservation for SC and ST candidates taken collectively, is not disturbed in any manner. 15. Mr. Sanjay Jain, learned Additional Solicitor General appeared for the Respondent No. 5-Union of India that has filed a counter affidavit through the Ministry of Human Resource Development. In its counter affidavit, Union of India has supported the findings returned in the impugned judgment to the effect that the percentage of reservation for SC and ST candidates was existing and being applied by the Respondent No. 1 - University when it was a 'State University', before the commencement of the Reservation Act, viz. 31% for STs and 2% for SCs which was required to be adopted for determination of the percentage of reservation for ST and SC candidates in the University and that the percentage of reservation for OBC candidates was to be restricted to the extent of the percentages of reservation for the ST and SC candidates taken collective ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... sity restored the earlier norms of reservation by reserving 2% seats for SCs, 31% seats for STs and 17% seats for OBCs. Learned Counsel for the Respondent No. 7 concluded by submitting that the impugned judgment projects the correction position and does not warrant any interference by this Court. 17. Mr. Shivendra Dwivedi, learned Counsel appearing for the Respondent Nos. 8, 9 and 10 has also supported the findings returned in the impugned judgment and submitted that in compliance to the Amendment Act, Respondent No. 1 - University has rightly calculated the ratio of reservation of seats in admission to 31% for ST, 2% for SC and 17% for OBC candidates. He submitted that a plain reading of the last part of Clause (a) of the second proviso to Section 3 of the Parent Act, as amended vide Amendment Act makes it amply clear that in view of the substantial tribal population in the State of Manipur and the other States mentioned in Section 2(ia) that defines "Specified north eastern region", the ratio of reservation for SC and ST candidates prevailing immediately before the enactment of the Reservation Act would not be reduced. At the same time, the said ratio of reservation would not be ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d for ST candidates could not be less than 7.5%. Therefore, provision of only 2% reservation to SC candidates by the Respondent No. 1 - University violates the mandates of Section 3 of the Parent Act. 19. We have perused the impugned judgment and given our thoughtful consideration to the multifaceted arguments advanced by learned Counsel for the parties. 20. It is not in dispute that Respondent No. 1 - University was originally established as a 'State University' in the year 1980 under the Manipur University Act No. 8 of 1980. As a State University, Respondent No. 1 - University was following the Manipur Sate reservation policy by reserving 2% seats for SC candidates and 31% for ST candidates for admission into various courses. On 13th October, 2005, the Respondent No. 1 - University was converted into a 'Central University' under the Manipur University Act No. 54 of 2005. After conversion too, Respondent No. 1 - University continued following the Manipur State Reservation Policy, i.e., 2% for SC and 31% for ST for admission upto the academic session 2008-2009. On 3rd January, 2007, the Reservation Act came into force. Pursuant thereto, the Respondent No. 1 - Univ ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ibal areas referred to in the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution from reservation for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, if any, but this was not intended while enacting the aforesaid Act, except in case of Minority Educational Institutions which are exempt in terms of Clause (5) of Article 15 of the Constitution. Moreover, some of the Central Educational Institutions have been finding it difficult to adhere to the time-limit of three years for creation of the requisite physical and academic infrastructure owing to various reasons beyond their control. 3. In order to remove the aforesaid practical difficulties being faced by the various Central Educational Institutions in giving effect to the provisions of the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006, it has become necessary to amend certain provisions of the Act. It is also proposed to clarify that implementation of the Act has, in fact, taken effect from the calendar year 2008 and not from the year 2007 as specified in Section 6 of the Act. 4. The Bill seeks to achieve the above objects. [emphasis supplied] 22. The aforesaid Bill was placed before the Parliamentary Standing Committee ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rvation may be definite, it is the OBC reservation which may differ from State to State. The Committee is also aware of the fact that reconciliation has to be made between 50 per cent cap on reservation and 27 per cent OBC quota. The Committee is of the view that OBC percentage is to be decided by taking SC and ST reservation as a compulsory component. Since the extent of reservation is 50 per cent whatever remaining after fulfilling the SC/ST reservation may go to OBCs. 23. The reasons for omitting Clause (a) of Section 4, which exempted application of Section 3 of the Parent Act to a CEI established in tribal areas referred to in the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution, was discussed in paras 3.7 and 3.8 of the Report in the following manner: 3.7 This Clause seeks to omit Clause (a) of Section 4, thereby withdrawing the exemption erroneously given to the CEIs established in the tribal areas referred to in the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution from implementing the reservation policy for SCs and STs, if any, in force immediately preceding the date of the coming into force of the principal Act. 3.8 On a specific query about the factors necessitating the proposed amendment, the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... eighed with the legislating authorities in proposing the amendments to the Reservation Act. 26. It can be discerned from the Statement of Objects and Reasons appended to the Amendment Bill, the background notes submitted to the Standing Committee by the Department of Higher Education and the 234th Report tabled by the Standing Committee in the Parliament that some of the CEIs, in particular those situated in North Eastern States having a predominant tribal population, expressed their inability to reduce the extent of reservation of seats for SCs and STs for ensuring reservation of 27% of the seats for the OBC category, as stipulated in the Reservation Act. It can also be seen that the provisions of the Reservation Act as they stood, exempted CEIs situated in tribal areas referred to in the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution, from making any reservation for SCs and STs, which as a matter of fact, was not the object behind introducing the enactment. Recognising the fact that the composition of the population in the North Eastern States ought to be given precedence, the Standing Committee stated in its Report that while the extent of reservation of seats for SCs/STs may be definite, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... f the writ petition under reply, it is submitted that in view of the provisions of the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Amendment Act, 2012 reservation of seats in respect of reserved categories, candidates have to be 31%, 2% and 17% in respect of ST, SC and OBC candidates respectively. Thus, the seats reserved for SC have to be recalculated in accordance with the said Amendment Act, and it was the same percentage of reservation prevalent in the University prior to the commencement of the Principal Act i.e. the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006. The distribution of seats/break-up for SC/ST/OBC/UR based on the said proportion for reservation was intimated to the Secretary to His Excellency the Governor of Manipur vide the letter dated 23-07-2014, after obtaining the approval/concurrence of the Heads i and Deans of all subjects of the Manipur University. XXX XXX XXX 9. That, in reply to the contents of para No. 10 of the writ petition under-reply, it is submitted, as stated in the foregoing paragraphs that the Central Educational 'Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act; 2006 has been adopted by the Manipur Un ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ied under Clauses (i) and (ii). Two riders have also been dovetailed in the second proviso to Section 3, namely Clauses (a) and (b). Clause (a) of the second proviso, contemplates a situation where seats referred to in the second proviso are less than 50% of the annual permitted strength on the date immediately preceding the date of commencement of the Amendment Act. Clause (b) provides for a situation where such seats are over 50% of the annual permitted strength on the date immediately preceding the date of commencement of the Amendment Act. In a situation contemplated in Clause (a) of the second proviso, a restriction has been imposed on the total percentage of seats required to be reserved for OBC candidates Under Section 3(iii) of the Parent Act by limiting them to the balance seats available after factoring in the combined percentage of seats specified in Clauses (i) and (ii) of Section 3 of the Parent Act, falling short of 50% of the annual permitted strength. But in circumstances contemplated in Clause (b), the Act recognizes the fact that no seats need be reserved for the OBC candidates under Clause (iii) of Section 3 of the Parent Act. However, this is subject to the cond ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... out in the first instance, as to what would be the difference between 50% of the annual permitted strength and the combined existing percentage for the SC and ST candidates, as obtained on the date immediately preceding the date of commencement of the Reservation Act. Both the issues are so interlaced that to determine the percentage of reservation for OBC candidates, one would have to undertake an exercise of determining the percentage of seats to be reserved for SC and ST candidates, all within the four corners of the second proviso inserted in Section 3 of the Parent Act. Any other interpretation sought to be assigned to the second proviso to Section 3 inserted post-amendment, would make the proviso itself unworkable and redundant and is, therefore, impermissible. Thus, we make it clear that the general Rules of reservation have been encapsulated in Clauses (i), (ii) and (iii) of Section 3 of the Parent Act. But when it comes to CEIs established in States falling under the definition of "Specified north eastern region", categorized in Section 2(ia) introduced by the Amendment Act, the two new provisos appended to Section 3 would govern the norms of reservation which prescribes ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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