In a recent verdict, the Delhi High Court has dismissed a petition challenging the priority given to the wards of ex-servicemen over the wards of serving personnel in the Army quota of 5% for admission to various educational institutions. The court, comprising Justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Neena Bansal Krishna, stated that the policy defining the reservation categories was not arbitrary or mala fide.
The plea was filed by the husband of a serving lieutenant colonel in the Indian Army, contending that the majority of benefits under the army quota for engineering colleges were taken away by the "Wards of Ex-servicemen" category, leaving no seats for others, especially the "Wards of Serving Personnel" category.
The court, however, observed that the category of "Wards of Serving Personnel" was added to ensure that the reservation benefits for the wives and wards of ex-servicemen or gallantry award holders were fully utilized. It emphasized that the reservation scheme primarily aimed to benefit widows and wards of defense personnel who were either killed or disabled due to military service.
Referring to the government's explanation, the court noted that the category of "Wards of Serving Personnel" was included in Priority VIII to prevent any unutilized vacancies after providing benefits to all categories. The government's policy decision to define the utilization of reservation quota for wards of Army personnel was deemed reasonable and not arbitrary.
The court further highlighted that the reservation policy had been duly incorporated in the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) for admission to BTech courses. It stated that the government and the Ministry of Defence had the authority to determine the manner in which reservations for different categories of wards would be availed.
The plea challenging the 2018 decision introducing the priority categories was dismissed by the court, affirming that there was no ground to interfere with the government order or reshuffle the priority categories. The court emphasized that the inclusion of the "Wards of Serving Personnel" in Priority VIII was to ensure the full utilization of the 5% reservation for the benefit of the wards of Armed Forces Personnel.
The 2018 Union Government order established nine categories of "Priority" for providing reservations in medical, professional, and non-professional courses throughout the country under the Army quota of 5%. The court's dismissal of the plea upholds the existing policy and its classification of reservation categories for the benefit of wards of ex-servicemen and serving personnel.
Source: Link
Picture Source :
