HC's no to reservation benefit to student

Chandigarh, Oct 3 (UNI) In an important ruling, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has held that the benefit of reservation could not be given to a candidate, even with a valid scheduled caste certificate, whose mother or father was now a member of the forward class as a result of marriage.

The division bench of Justices Hemant Gupta and Nawab Singh have held this on a petition of Harpreet Kaur who had sought admission to the bachelor of dental surgery(BDS) on the basis of PMET-2008 result against the seat reserved for the scheduled caste candidates.

The bench observed that the case of the petitioner is that her mother is a scheduled caste and as per instructions of May 22, 1977 regarding caste status of off-springs of inter-caste marriage, such as the petitioner, the scheduled caste certificate was rightly issued by the tehsildar. However, the petitioner was not granted admission against the seats reserved for the scheduled caste candidates on the objection raised by the social welfare department to the effect that the petitioner could not be extended the benefit of reserved category.

The bench further observed that ''the benefit of reservation is to provide opportunity to the person who faced handicap on account of social, cultural and educational backwardness. When the mother of the petitioner married a forward class man, she became a member of such family.

The bench further observed that by such manner, social backwardness which her family might have suffered before her marriage got obliterated. With such a marriage, the status of the family is not downgraded, the bench said in its ruling.

''The law of the nature is to flow and not to obstruct the natural growth'' the bench further observed and added ''It is strange that even after 60 years of independence and reservation policy in place, people are finding ways and means to claim the benefits of reservation rather than denouncing it.'' ''The petitioner has rightly been denied admission under the category of scheduled castes'', the bench further held.

UNI XC HS PK BST2224