TIRATH S. THAKUR, J. ( 1 ) IN this petition for a writ of mandamus the petitioner seeks a direction against the respondents to permit him to attend the CET counselling for admission to the Engineering Colleges in the State in the quota reserved for sports persons. ( 2 ) THE petitioner appeared in the CET Examination seeking admission against an Engineering Seat in the sports quota. His claim for admission in the said category was not however, considered on the ground that the petitioner had not represented the State of Karnataka in any National Tournament. Aggrieved the petitioner has filed the present petition for a mandamus as already indicated above. The petitioner's case is that he is qualified to compete for a seat in the sports quota having played and represented Karnataka in a number of tournaments. In support he has placed on record a certificate issued by the Karnataka Cricket Association, certifying that the petitioner has played the following tournaments :-1. Represented 'karnataka' in thenutrine Super Star South Zone Tournament for under 13 during 1989. 2. Represented 'south Zone' in the Nutrine Super Star Tournament for under 13 during 1990. 3. Represented 'combined Colleges XI' in the S. A. Srinivasan Memorial Trophy Tournament during 1994 and 1995. 4. Represented 'bangalore Zone' in the KSCA Diamond Jubilee Tournament for under 19 during 1994. 5. Represented 'karnataka' in the Ghulam Ahmed Trophy - South Zone Tournament for under 19 during 1994 and 1995. 6. Represented 'bangalore City XI' in the Shafi Darashan Trophy Tournament during 1995. 7. Represented 'bangalore City' in the KSCA Diamond Jubilee Tournament for under 19 during 1995. 8. Represented 'karnataka' in the Inter-Association matches for P. Ramachandra Rao Mem. Trophy and M. Chinnaswamy Trophy for under 22 during 1995. 9. Attended Ranji Nets during Oct. 1995. S (Dr. K. Thammappaiah)President. Represented 'bangalore City XI' in the Shafi Darashan Trophy Tournament during 1995. 7. Represented 'bangalore City' in the KSCA Diamond Jubilee Tournament for under 19 during 1995. 8. Represented 'karnataka' in the Inter-Association matches for P. Ramachandra Rao Mem. Trophy and M. Chinnaswamy Trophy for under 22 during 1995. 9. Attended Ranji Nets during Oct. 1995. S (Dr. K. Thammappaiah)President. Reliance is also placed by him on two other similar Certificates dated 30th October 1996 and 18th November 1996 issued by the aforesaid association, inter alia certifying that the petitioner had represented the State of Karnataka in "ghulam Ahmed Trophy South Zone Tournament for Under 19" and that "cooch-Bihar Trophy Tournament under 19 years conducted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, is a National Junior Tournament, which in the preliminary rounds is conducted at the Zonal level and in the South is known as "ghulam Ahmed Trophy South Zone Tournament for under 19 years'. Three other certificates issued by the Karnataka State Cricket Association certifying that the petitioner has represented the State of Karnataka in the Ghulam Ahmed Trophy in South Zone under 19" during the year 1994-95, 1995-96 and 1996-97 have also been produced. These Certificates it is asserted by the petitioner entitle him to consideration for admission in the sports quota denial whereof deprives him of his valuable right guaranteed under Arts. 14 and 16 of the Constitution. ( 3 ) A Statement of objections has been filed on behalf of the respondents in which it is contended that the petitioner is not entitled to the relief sought by him as he is not eligible to the award of any points by the Committee for selection of the candidates under the Sports Quota. It is stated that the Certificates produced by the petitioner have been considered by the Committee but since the petitioner was found to have participated only in the South Zone Cricket Tournament without participating either in the Inter Zone or National level tournament he was not entitled to stake his claim in the sports quota. Reliance is also placed in this regard upon the guidelines framed by the committee for selection of sports person for admission to different professional courses. It is urged that according to the guidelines, candidates who have participated in State Championships, National Coaching Camps, Zonal Meets and Invitation Meets are not entitled to be considered. Reliance is also placed in this regard upon the guidelines framed by the committee for selection of sports person for admission to different professional courses. It is urged that according to the guidelines, candidates who have participated in State Championships, National Coaching Camps, Zonal Meets and Invitation Meets are not entitled to be considered. In other words, the Respondents have stoutly disputed the petitioner's eligibility for consideration in the sports category. ( 4 ) I have heard the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner and Mr. Srinivas Reddy, Government Advocate for the Respondents. ( 5 ) ADMISSION of candidates to different professional courses is regulated by what are known as Selection of Candidates for Admission to Engineering Medical, Dental, Pharmacy and Nursing Courses Rules, 1993. Rule 12 of the said Rules envisages reservation under free seats category in favour of sports persons the relevant portion whereof reads thus :-"12. Seats shall be Reserved under Free Seats in favour of the following Categories of persons and to the extent specified by the Government from time to time :- (i) (a) to (b) xx xx xx xx xx (c) Candidates who have represented the country at International Games/sports or who have represented the State at the All India Level. With a view to regulating admissions against seats reserved for sports person, the Government have framed certain guidelines, a copy where of has been produced by the Respondents as Annexure-R2, to the objections filed on their behalf. The guidelines inter alia provide that National and International sports events conducted by recognised federation alone shall be considered excluding in the process State Championships, National Coaching Camps, Zonal. Meets, Invitation Meets, etc. The guidelines further prescribe the points to be awarded for different types of events at different levels of the games with which we are not immediately concerned. All that is relevant for purpose of the present writ petition is the provision made in paras 1 and 2 of guidelines which read thus :-1. Sports events of National and International conducted by the recognised Federation only shall be considered. 2. State Championships, National Coaching Camps, Zonal Meets, Invitation Meets shall not be considered. A conjoint reading of the Rule and the Guidelines mentioned above, would no doubt show that only such of the candidates as have participated in any National or International sports event are eligible for consideration in the sports category. 2. State Championships, National Coaching Camps, Zonal Meets, Invitation Meets shall not be considered. A conjoint reading of the Rule and the Guidelines mentioned above, would no doubt show that only such of the candidates as have participated in any National or International sports event are eligible for consideration in the sports category. The question then is whether the petitioner has participated in any one of these events. According to the Respondents he has not, whereas according to the petitioner, his participation in the Ghulam Ahmed Trophy South Zone Tournament for under 19 for three consecutive years tantamounts to his participation in a National Sports event. I am inclined to accept the view canvassed by the petitioner. The reasons are obvious, and can be stated straightway. The Cooch-Bihar Tournament for under 19 years, conducted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India is a National Junior Tournament. This Tournament is in the preliminary rounds conducted at the Zonal level on the league basis. In South Zone, the Tournament is conducted under the name of 'ghulam Ahmed South Zone Tournament for under 19'. This position, has not been disputed by the Respondent as indeed the same cannot be disputed in the light of the certificate issued by the Karnataka State Cricket Association dated 18th of November 1996, which reads thus :cooch-Behar Trophy Tournament for under 19 years conducted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, is National Junior Tournament. In the preliminary round, the Tournament will be conducted at Zonal level on league basis and in the South Zone it will be conducted under the name of "ghulam Ahmed Trophy South Zone Tournament for under 19". S Hon. Secretary. To the same effect is a certificate dated 9th December 1996 issued by the Board of Control for Cricket in India. It is also not disputed that the petitioner has represented the State of Karnataka in Ghulam Ahmed Trophy for South Zone for 3 consecutive years 1994-95, 1995-96 and 1996-97. That being so, the petitioner has certainly represented the State of Karnataka in a Tournament at the National level no matter the preliminary rounds are played at the Zonal Level only. The respondents have it appears not found favour with this line of reasoning by the petitioner before them. That being so, the petitioner has certainly represented the State of Karnataka in a Tournament at the National level no matter the preliminary rounds are played at the Zonal Level only. The respondents have it appears not found favour with this line of reasoning by the petitioner before them. They argue that in order that a participation may be said to be in a National Sports event, the participant must play in the final stage of the tournament or at least at the inter Zonal Level. Since the team representing the State of Karnataka was eliminated at the Zonal level itself, contend the respondents the petitioner's participation in the Tournament could not be termed to be a participation in a National sports event. I am not however impressed by this reasoning. The mere fact that the Tournament starts with matches at the zonal level does not mean that the Tournament is not a national event. It is but natural that all those participating in a National Tournament cannot reach the semi-final or the final stages of the Tournment. The Tournament has of necessity to start at Zonal level where some of the teams get eliminated so that only the best eventually reach the final stages. The elimination of a team at the knock out or at the preliminary stage of a Tournament which is played at the national level as is the position in the instant case, cannot obvioulsy deprive the Tournament of its All India Character, nor can those who participated in such a Tournament be denied the distinction of having played a National Tournament only because their team was eliminated at the Zonal level itself. I am supported in this view by a judgment of the Supreme Court in State of Punjab v. Bhagwant Singh, AIR 1985 SC 981 . That was a case where the candidate was refused admission even when he was a member of the team, that had played at the Zonal level in the All India inter-State Hockey Tournament. The exclusion of the candidate from the sports category was sought to be justified on the ground that the candidate's team had been eliminated in the zonal round itself, with the result that it did not reach the final stage of the Tournament. The exclusion of the candidate from the sports category was sought to be justified on the ground that the candidate's team had been eliminated in the zonal round itself, with the result that it did not reach the final stage of the Tournament. According to the authorities, a candidate would be entitled to consideration on the ground of his having played a national tournament only if he had participated in the finals of the tournament in that case the All India Inter University Hockey Tournament. The High Court negatived this contention. In an Appeal filed by the State of Punjab the Apex Court, upheld the view taken by the High Court and held that the candidate was entitled to consideration in the sports category. Their Lordships observed that if the Punjab Agricultural Hockey Team of which the candidate was a member had participated only in a Zonal Championship or competition, then there could be no doubt that the requirement of Grade. C-II would not have been fulfilled. The candidate the Court held had not participated in any Zonal Championship or competition but in the All India Inter State Hockey Championship held by the Association of Indian Universities. The view taken by the Court can be best appreciated in the words in which the same was expressed. The Court observed thus (at p. 982 of AIR) :-The All India Inter Varsity Hockey Champion-ship was held by the Association of Indian Universities and since there would be quite a number of teams participating in the champion-ship, the arrangement was that there should be first knockout matches at the zonal level and the teams which came first and second at the zonal level would meet at the stage of finals. This was the manner in which the All India Inter Varsities Hockey Championship was conducted and if that be so, there can be no doubt that the Punjab Agricultural University Team of which the 1st respondent was a member participated in the All India Inter Varsity Hockey Championship even though that team got eliminated at the zonal level. The All India Inter Varsity Hockey Championship commenced with the holding of the matches at the zonal level and ultimately culminated in the finals and every team which participated even at the zonal level in fact participated in the All India Inter Varsity Hockey Championship. The All India Inter Varsity Hockey Championship commenced with the holding of the matches at the zonal level and ultimately culminated in the finals and every team which participated even at the zonal level in fact participated in the All India Inter Varsity Hockey Championship. The 1st respondent was therefore justified in applying for C-II Gradation Certificate and the Director of Sports, Punjab was right in issuing C-II Gradation Certificate to the 1st respondent on the basis that he was a member of the Punjab Agricultural University Hockey Team which participated in the All India Inter Varsity Hockey Championship held at Meerut in 1981-82. We accordingly affirm the view taken by the Division Bench of the High Court. The above judgment is in my opinion a complete answer to the argument advanced on behalf of the respondents. The participation of the petitioner in the present case was not in any zonal championship or zonal meet but in a Tournament which was admittedly a National Tournament played at different levels. The very fact that the team in which the petitioner played on behalf of the State of Karnataka was eliminated at the Zonal level itself did not mean that the petitioner had not participated in the National Tournament. The participation of the petitioner in the zonal level matches played on league basis, was a participation in the National Tournament no matter the participation was at the initial stages confined to the South Zone only. In the circumstances, therefore the view taken by the respondents and the consequent denial to the petitioner of an opportunity of competing in the sports category was wholly unjustified. ( 6 ) I may at this stage also advert to yet another aspect by no means less important. In the course of the submissions made by the learned counsel for the petitioner it was contended that on account of the unduly rigid approach adopted by the respondents they have excluded from consideration candidates who were otherwise eligible in the sports category with the result that as against a total of 60 seats reserved under the sports category only 41 candidates were admitted thereby leaving 19 other seats vacant, all of which except one seat reserved by this Court in the present proceedings for the petitioner were transferred to the General Merit Category. This position has not been denied by the Respondents who were directed to file an Affidavit filed clearly admits that 19 seats out of the sports category have remained unfilled thereby making their diversion to the General Merit Category necessary. This does not appear to be a very happy situation for reservation made for a particular category cannot be rendered meaningless by the authorities concerned adopting a higher technical or wooden approach to the matter. The underlying purpose of any reservation is to promote the prospects of those who qualify for the benefit under the Reservation. Adopting a padentic approach towards norms regulating admission of candidates falling in the reserved categories does not subserve the purpose underlying the Reservation, resulting in situations where seats legitimately reserved for any such category have to be transferred to other categories. While it is open to the Rule making authority to provide that the benefit of reservation made for sports persons shall be available only to those who have participated in a Tournament at the national, or International level, it appears to be wholly unnecessary to make such participation at the finals on the interzonal level of the Tournament essential before the benefit of the reservation can be claimed. The authorities would not well to adopt a more realistic and pragmatic approach to the matter while interpreting the Rules and norms always bearing in mind that the benefit of reservation must reach out to those who qualify for the same without any undue and unnecessary hurdles being created whether by artificial extension of the Rules or otherwise. ( 7 ) IN the result this petition succeeds and is hereby allowed. Since the respondents were directed to reserve one seat in any Engineering College and since a BE (Elec) seat has been reserved in compliance with the said direction, in G and D Engineering College at Bidar, the petitioner shall be admitted against the same. The petitioner may also give to the CET cell his option for admission in any other college, in the State so that in the event of any seat in General Merit or Sports category falling vacant in any such college, his case can be considered for admission against the same. In the circumstances of the case, the petitioner is also held entitled to costs assessed at Rs. 1,000/ -. Petition allowed. --- *** --- .