Valsamma v. State of Kerala — 1977 DIGILAW 332 (KER)

JUDGMENT P. Subramonian poti, J, 1. Latin Catholic Community is one among the classes recognised as socially and educationally backward in the Kerala State. All the groups and sections considered as backward in this State are not at the same level in the social scale. Some of them are in the region of the border line and their claim to be backward is now and then challenged too. Some are at the bottom of the scale. To treat all the backward classes alike and as in one group would be unfair and unjust. That would serve to fatten some at the cost of others. The weaker section among the backward will continue to be backward and the promotional device contemplated by the process of reservation would not subserve their interests. It would defeat the very purpose of the reservation. Separate and independent reservation for different sections of the backward classes within the total reservation quota is the logical answer and that has been adopted as the appropriate device. The quantum of such separate reservation would call for assessment from time to time with a view to render the reservation in favour of the more backward classes a reality. Sometimes that may call for a separate treatment of some groups within the reserved class. I am prefacing this judgment with these remarks as it appears to be relevant here. Either due to lack of imagination or absence of application of the mind the State Government had adopted an anomalous formula in the matter of reservation of seats in the Engineering Colleges of the State which device has effectively denied to some deserving classes the benefit of reservation. May be it is not by design, but due to ignorance, but that is no consolation to the communities concerned. A strange, but apparently ingenious device has been adopted as if to secure for all the sections in the backward class reservation in the matter of admission to the Engineering College. Theoretically reservation there is, but in fact reservation is totally dented to communities like the Latin Catholics. The approach exhibits a visible lack of pragmatism. 2. The prospectus Issued in the name of the Director of Technical Education regulating the admission to the Engineering Colleges in the state during the year 1977-78 specifies 50 seats in the 4 year Engineering Degree Course as available for admission to graduates in science. The approach exhibits a visible lack of pragmatism. 2. The prospectus Issued in the name of the Director of Technical Education regulating the admission to the Engineering Colleges in the state during the year 1977-78 specifies 50 seats in the 4 year Engineering Degree Course as available for admission to graduates in science. Out of these 50 seats admission on the basis of State merit would be to 50 per cent of the scats and admission on the basis of allocation between Malabar and Travancore - Cochin would be to 15 per cent of the seats. The balance 35 per cent is reserved for socially and educationally backward classes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. In this group Latin Catholic (other than Anglo - Indians) have reservation to two out of the 35 per cent. Thus if 50 is the total number of seats available for science graduates for admission normally one seat must go to Latin Catholics. There were only two Latin Catholic applicants this year, the petitioner Valsamma, J. being the one and one Raphel, J. being the other. Both of them had qualifying marks. Raphel, J. had higher marks than the petitioner. Admittedly he did not Tee En Publications This Product is Licenced to Unnikrishnan Vappear for interview and thus forfeited his right to have admission to the course. The petitioner was the only other eligible candidate from the Latin Catholic community for admission in the reservation quota if that was available. Normally one should understand the rule of reservation as enabling the petitioner to get a seat out of the total of 50 towards the 2 per cent reservation for the Latin Catholic Community. But the petitioner was denied admission and that is the complaint in the petition. It may also be remarked here that there are 6 branches in the Engineering Degree Course, they being Civil, Mechanical, Chemical, Electrical, Architecture and Electronics and Communications. The petitioner filed separate applications for Civil, Electrical and Electronics branches Course, and she seeks admission to any one of these. 3. The answer in the counter affidavit filed on behalf of the Director of Technical Education, Trivandrum is no doubt simple. According to him it is true that normally one out of 50 seats must go to the Latin Catholic candidate. 3. The answer in the counter affidavit filed on behalf of the Director of Technical Education, Trivandrum is no doubt simple. According to him it is true that normally one out of 50 seats must go to the Latin Catholic candidate. But since each branch of the Engineering course is allotted specific number of seats and separate applications have to be made by an applicant desiring to join the course in any one of these branches it is said that reservation was considered independently for each branch. That would mean that in the civil branch for which 11 out of 50 seats were allocated the percentage of reservation for the Latin Catholic would work out to 0.22. In the Electrical Engineering branch also it would work out to 0.22 because 11 seats were allocated in that branch. In Electronics and communications it worked out to 0.16 as the total number of seats allocated is 8. Therefore in none of the branches the petitioner sought admission or for that matter in none of the branches of the Engineering course a whole seat is available to a Latin Catholic. It is said that, as such the Latin Catholic as a separate community could not be considered for reservation. To meet this the device adopted was to club together the communities which had less than one seat in each of the branches on the basis of their reservation percentage so as to make up one seat and allot it to the person who had highest marks in that group. If, for instance, communities A, B and C are entitled to reservation, and on the basis of the percentage reserved for them the number of seats works out to less than 1 in any particular branch they would be clubbed together so as to make the reservation of one seat for the group in that branch possible. The marks of all the candidates belonging to the communities A, B and C would be considered as in one group and the candidate who gets the highest mark in that group would be given admission. May be the same story is repeated In the other branches too. The marks of all the candidates belonging to the communities A, B and C would be considered as in one group and the candidate who gets the highest mark in that group would be given admission. May be the same story is repeated In the other branches too. The consequence would be: supposing community B is not as socially and educationally backward as the other two communities and the candidates of that community get higher marks than those of the other two communities the benefit of reservation not only to the quota of that community but also of the other two communities will also go to such community. If the candidates of the B community get more marks than that of communities A and C in the total seats representing the percentage for A, B and C, candidates of community B alone would obtain admission. It is plain that this is illogical and irrational. It is evident that this destroys the provision conferring benefit of reservation to some group or other among the Backward Communities. It is also apparent that it confers undue advantage to the less Backward group which is lucky to be clubbed with more Backward groups. 4. Applying the formula so devised the Muslim Community has a claim for 0.88 seat in the Civil and Electrical branches and that has been rounded off into one and one. seat each allotted to that community in both the branches. On the basis of that formula "Other Backward Hindu' group is entitled to 0.55 seat, "Other Backward Classes' to 0.11 and the Latin Catholic to 0.22 seat in the Civil as well as Electrical Branches. These three have been grouped together to claim one seat. In the Electronics and Communication branch the total seats are 8 out of 50 and out of this Ezhava quota is 0.72, Latin Catholic 0.16 and the Other Backward Classes is 0.03 seat. So Ezhava, Latin Catholic and Other Backward Classes have been grouped together for one seat. So in the Civil and Electrical branches the Latin Catholic has to compete with the 'Other Backward Hindu' group and 'Other Backward Classes' group while for the seat in the Electronics and Communication branch he has to compete with 'Ezhava' and Other Backward Classes. So Ezhava, Latin Catholic and Other Backward Classes have been grouped together for one seat. So in the Civil and Electrical branches the Latin Catholic has to compete with the 'Other Backward Hindu' group and 'Other Backward Classes' group while for the seat in the Electronics and Communication branch he has to compete with 'Ezhava' and Other Backward Classes. The counter affidavit says“ "Thus two or more communities being grouped together for & seat, when selection is made the candidate with highest marks in the concerned groups communities is selected .............. This is the only way possible and rational in the circumstances of the case." 5. It needs no special talent to predict the result of such a grouping. In the group of Ezhava/Latin Catholic/ Other Backward Classes, the Ezhava candidate had the highest marks, and he was selected For the Civil Engineering branch 'Other Backward Hindu' was selected and for the Electrical Engineering also 'Other Backward Hindu' was selected. Thus the Ezhava who was entitled only to 0.72 seats got a seat in the Electronic and Communication branch in excess of the percentage of reservation conceived for that community. Other Backward Hindu who was entitled to 0.40 seat in the Electrical Branch and 0.40 seat in Civil Engineering got one seat each in both, considerably raising the percentage of reservation for the said community. The Latin Catholic got zero seat nullifying the rule of reservation to that community. It is strange that the counter affidavit should characterise this process as rational. It is anything bat that. 6. At the hearing of this case learned counsel for the State Sri Chandrasekhara Das pleaded helplessness of the Government to meet the situation otherwise than by the method adopted. I must frankly admit that I am unable to appreciate the stand. Provision could be made for allotment of one seat to Latin Catholic in any one of the branches and similar treatment could be given to all communities entitle d to the benefit of reservation if out of the total number of seats they are entitled to a full seat. In cases where a community may not get even one seat out of the 50 -- that is not the case with the Latin Catholic -- provision could be made for rotational allocation of seats in successive years. In cases where a community may not get even one seat out of the 50 -- that is not the case with the Latin Catholic -- provision could be made for rotational allocation of seats in successive years. Any number of such devices to secure the reserved classes what is due to them could easily be conceived provided there is the anxiety to secure such benefit to them. 7. The provisions for reservation are intended to achieve a social purpose. It is the avowed object of the State as expressed in the directive principles of State policy in Art.46 of the Constitution that the State shall promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people, and, in particular, of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, and shall protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation. The solemn object of securing equality to the citizens would be a mirage if an earnest attempt to promote the interests of weaker sections of the people is not made with a spirit of dedication to that cause. It is the duty of the administrative machinery of the State to conceive and plan methods and devices necessary to implement the policy of the State directed towards its social welfare goal. That calls for a pragmatic, rationalist and more than that a dedicated and inspired approach. I regret to say that the evidence here speaks of a mechanical and uninformed attitude on the part of those who had the duty of implementing the rule of reservation, 8. It goes without saying that out of 50 seats Latin Catholic is entitled to one seat and the petitioner is the only qualified "applicant for the seat. By an interim order passed by this court the selection for admission was made expressly subject to the result of the Original Petition and further this court directed that the candidates selected shall be intimated so. I am told that they have been so intimated. Hence the right of the petitioner cannot be defeated on the ground that 3rd party interests have intervened. 9. On the facts and circumstances disclosed in this case the petitioner is entitled to be admitted to an Engineering College as a candidate belonging to the Latin Catholic community. I am told that they have been so intimated. Hence the right of the petitioner cannot be defeated on the ground that 3rd party interests have intervened. 9. On the facts and circumstances disclosed in this case the petitioner is entitled to be admitted to an Engineering College as a candidate belonging to the Latin Catholic community. Respondents are directed to admit the petitioner to the Engineering Degree Course in any of the three branches for which she has made application. That shall be done forthwith. The Original Petition is allowed. I am not ordering costs in the circumstances of the case.