SC upholds High Court’s order regarding change in reservation of seats for admission purposes in Manipur University; says percentage of reserved seats must be determined within four corners of second proviso of Sec.3 of Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act

Read Judgment: Shri Kshetrimayum Maheshkumar Singh & Another vs. Manipur University & Others

Pankaj Bajpai

New Delhi, January 7, 2022: The Supreme Court has opined that in order to determine the percentage of reservation for OBC candidates, the percentage of seats to be reserved for SC and ST candidates must be determined within the four corners of the second proviso inserted in Section 3 of the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006 (Reservation Act – Parent Act). 

A Division Bench of Justice L. Nageswara Rao and Justice Hima Kohli therefore observed that Manipur University (first Respondent) was right in reverting back to the position obtaining immediately before the commencement of the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006 (Reservation Act), by reserving seats in respect of ST, SC and OBC candidates, pegged at 31%, 2% and 17% respectively which was in consonance with the Manipur State Reservation Policy.

The observation came pursuant to an appeal challenging the judgment, whereby the High Court of Manipur (Imphal Bench) held that after the amendment of the Reservation Act, in the year 2012, on introduction of the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Amendment Act, 2012 (Amendment Act), first Respondent was 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. 

After considering the Amendment Bill and Reports, the Apex Court noted that Reports and recommendations made by the Parliamentary Committees/Commissions that precede enactment of a Statute can be used as external aids to interpret the meaning of ambiguous words in a statutory provision wherever considered necessary. 

Speaking for the Bench, Justice Kohli recognizing the fact that the composition of the population in the North Eastern States ought to be given precedence, observed that the Standing Committee stated in its Report that while the extent of reservation of seats for SCs/STs may be definite, OBC reservation may differ from State to State. 

It was with the idea of re-conciliating 50% cap on reservation for SCs/STs and 27% for the OBC quota, that the Amendment Bill was introduced primarily to remove the existing ambiguities and to overcome the difficulties that were being faced by the CEIs established in the Sixth Schedule States, to accommodate the aspirations of a large tribal population in that region, added the Bench. 

Justice Kohli refused to accept the submission of the appellants that the amendments brought about in the Reservation Act by legislating the Amendment Act were only directed towards tribal States covered by the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution and cannot be made applicable to the State of Manipur, even though the definition of the expression “Specified north eastern region” introduced by virtue of the amended Section 2(ia) encompasses the State of Manipur. 

On the date immediately preceding the date of commencement of the Reservation Act, the first Respondent – University had been reserving 2% seats for SC and 31% for ST candidates for purposes of admission, found the Bench. 

The Apex Court therefore concluded that the High Court Single Judge was perfectly right in making the observation that the formulae for fixing the percentage of reservation for the SC and ST candidates and for determining the percentage of seats to be reserved for OBC candidates under the second proviso of Section 3, ought to be gathered from the same source. 

The Top Court therefore endorsed the view taken by the High Court Single Judge that after amendment of the Reservation Act, the University had to follow the reservation norms of 2% for SC candidates, 31% for ST candidates and 17% for OBC candidates which is in consonance with the second proviso to Section 3 of the Reservation Act inserted by virtue of the Amendment Act.