HC rules OBC candidates eligible for general category seats

Updated on: Wednesday, December 01, 2010

The Delhi High Court has ruled that quota candidates appearing in competitive examinations for professional courses are eligible for seeking admission under the general category if they qualify on merit.

This ruling by the Delhi High Court will be beneficial for the Other Backward Classes category students.

The court ruled, "A student can appear in the preliminary examination as an OBC candidate. If the student qualifies under the OBC category, they can put forth this claim. However, if the student secures more marks than the general category candidates, he would be justified to seek admission under the general category."

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) were also directed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Manmohan to admit OBC candidate Tejpal Yadav to a medical course under the general category for the next academic session.

Tejpal Yadav has won a seat in a medical course after fighting a legal battle for seven years as he had qualified in the Joint Entrance Exam in the year 2003. He had said that he could apply only under the OBC quota and had moved a two-judge bench against a single-judge order.

Yadav had scored 49.2% marks in the preliminary round of the All India Pre-Medical Test (AIPMT). He had scored 72.3% in the mains and had achieved a rank of 2,965 in the general category and 1,179 in the OBC category.

When the counseling had begun, Yadav was told that the seats under the OBC category had already been filled. Although there were seats available in the general category, Yadav's admission letter specified that he was eligible for seeking admission under only the OBC category seats.

Yadav's lawyer R.K. Saini argued that he was qualified for a general category seat on the basis of merit as well because he had scored a percentage of 72.3% in the mains.

HC rules OBC candidates eligible for general category seats

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