The Delhi High Court has sought a response from the Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) university regarding a petition challenging its decision to implement religion-based reservation in teaching and non-teaching positions, while abolishing the quota for scheduled caste and scheduled tribe categories. The plea was made by Ram Niwas Singh and Sanjay Kumar Meena, both belonging to the SC and ST communities, respectively. The petitioners argued that the resolution passed by JMI’s Executive Council on June 23, 2014, should be nullified as it was enacted without following proper legal procedures. The petitioners also requested a stay on the recruitment process for 241 non-teaching positions that lacks reservation for SC and ST candidates.
Appearing for JMI, standing counsel Pritish Sabharwal said that as a minority institution, it is not bound by the reservation policy for SC/ST. The petitioners argued that the exclusion of SC/ST candidates from reservation is a violation of the constitutional mandate, alleging that JMI has arbitrarily abolished the reservation for SC/ST in the appointment and promotion of non-teaching staff.
The petition further states that the resolution to abolish SC/ST reservation was never approved by the Visitor (President of India) and has not been published in the official gazette or presented before the Parliament. The petition seeks to declare the Executive Council’s resolution null and void, arguing that it violates Article 29(2) of the Indian Constitution and the principles of secularism.
The petition also questions the validity of the minority commission’s order recognising JMI as a minority institution. The petitioners argue that they will suffer significant prejudice and irreparable hardship if the recruitment process for the advertised posts is concluded. The court has scheduled the hearing for June 14, instead of the original date of July 7, as requested by the application.
