'Will Govt Issue Corrigendum, Withdraw Clause On Reservation In Minority Educational Institutions': Bombay HC

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday asked the Maharashtra government whether it is willing to issue a corrigendum or withdraw a clause in a Government Resolution (GR) that includes reservations for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes for admission to first-year college in minority educational institutions in the state.

A bench of Justices M. S. Karnik and N. R. Borkar posed the question while hearing a batch of petitions filed by some minority institutions challenging the GR.

On May 6, the government’s School Education and Sports Department issued a GR applying constitutional and social reservations to minority educational institutions.

According to the petitions, Article 15(5) of the Constitution of India excludes minority educational institutions, whether aided or unaided, from the applicability of reservations for socially and educationally backward classes.

During the hearing on Wednesday, the judges asked Additional Government Pleader Neha Bhide to take instructions on whether the government was willing to issue a corrigendum or exclude the clause from the resolution that includes minority institutions under the quota provisions.

The judges said: “Why did you (the government) include minority institutions in the GR? Withdraw them from it. Every time, you don’t need an order from the court. Withdrawing or issuing a corrigendum is not difficult.” They added that it could be a bona fide mistake on the part of the government and that a corrigendum could be issued.

The HC has kept the petitions for hearing on Thursday, when Bhide is to inform the court of the government’s stand.

The petitions claimed that under Article 30(1) (Right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions), the right of admission lies exclusively with the management of the institution. A similar GR was issued in 2019 but was withdrawn after petitions were filed then as well, the plea added.

The petitioners have urged the HC to quash and set aside the contentious portion of the GR and to stay its implementation pending the hearing. They have also sought directions to the state government to update or rectify the in-house and management quotas and to follow the seat distribution matrix used in the 2024–25 academic year. This year, the seat distribution matrix has reduced the management and in-house quota share by half.