Pamphlet 16 July 2009, YFE JNU

JNU students know when the last JNU Student Union Election was held. They also know that presently there is no JNUSU functioning. The JNU students very much aware of the fact that the 2007 student union election without, which never followed the Lyngdoh Recommendation was illegal and this was admitted by the JNU administration without any doubt. But still few people are claiming themselves as the reigning JNUSU as if ‘maan na maan main tera Shahrukh Khan’.

Friends, the communists are now confused what to do in the campus and spreading rumor regarding the implementation of OBC reservation. In the landmark judgment of “Youth for Equality vs. Union of India” delivered on 10 April 2008 the Supreme Court ordered that “The Government need not always provide the maximum limit. Reasonable cut off marks should be set so that standards of excellence greatly effect. The unfilled seats should revert to the general category.” Justice Pasayat and Thackker in the same judgment said “If any seats remain vacant after adopting such norms they shall be filled up by candidates from general categories.”

The Central Government did not follow the order in 2008 admission session and again Youth For Equality reached to the Supreme Court. Judgment pronounced by Justices K.G. Balakrishnan, Arijit Pasayat, C.K. Thakkar, R.V. Ravendran and Dalveer Bhandari of the Supreme Court of India on the plea of Youth For Equality on 15^th September 08 was as follows:

1) “What is the confusion? It was clarified in the judgment itself that the seats remaining vacant after the implementation of 27% OBC quota in Central Educational Institutions, including IITs and IIMs will go to the General Category. The wasting of seats cannot be allowed. It will go back to the general category. The reservation was not for ensuring that even if they (OBC) are not there, it will not go to others. It is very clear. The intention was that don’t leave the seat vacant. The intention was to give better education.”

2) "If the cut-off for general category is 50% marks in the entrance examination, you cannot admit OBC candidates who have secured just 25% marks. You cannot dilute merit altogether. That is why three of the five judges on the constitution bench had favoured a cut-off for OBC candidates — either 5% (two judges) or 10% (one judge) less than that of general candidates."

3) “The Centre, which appeared to be in a hurry to fill all the OBC seats, could not dilute merit by reducing the cut-off marks for backward class students much lower than that prescribed for the general category.”

4) “The concept of carrying forward to the next academic year the quota seats which remained unfilled is not allowed. If any seats remain vacant after adopting such norms, they shall be filled up by candidates from general categories."

Over 6,000 OBC seats in undergraduate courses in Delhi University will go to general category students this year due to absence of candidates in the reserved category. The Delhi University has 10,183 seats for OBC students. However, the varsity unable to fill these seats due to less number of applications from the OBC students. The DU administration said that “Several seats of our various colleges are still vacant. These seats will be converted into general category seats after 14 August as per the university’s earlier decision. At least two third of the total OBC seats are expected to be converted into the general seats, thus providing greater opportunity for candidates other than OBC categories”.

The JNU cannot have a different policy of its own and vacant OBC seats must go to the General Category students otherwise it may attract contempt of the Supreme Court.