- (1.) The sole issue for consideration is whether a minority institution is entitled to admit students of other communities in B.Ed. Course under the minority quota. The State Government had issued various government orders from time to time whereunder during the academic session 2014-15 fifty percent of the seats in a minority institution were required to be filled up on the recommendation of the counselling university, based on merit at a common entrance test. The remaining fifty percent of the seats (hereinafter referred to as ''the management quota') were left open to be filled by the management of unaided minority institutions from students of their choice, based on their interse merit, determined through the same common entrance test. In other words, fifty percent of the seats were to be filled up by selecting students of all communities strictly in accordance with merit based on the result of common entrance test. The remaining fifty percent of the seats were left open for being filled up from students of minority community, regard being had to the minority character of the educational institution. However, while making such admissions, their interse merit is to be the guiding factor. The government orders are silent on the point as to whether the management quota was to be filled up only by admitting students of minority community or it is permissible to admit students of other communities as well.
(2.) Brief background facts giving rise to the above controversy may be noted. The petitioner is a self-financed minority institution imparting education in Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.). It has due recognition from the National Council for Teacher Education and is duly affiliated to M.J.P. Rohilkhand University, Bareilly (the third respondent). By an order dated 9 December 2004, the State Government recognised the minority status of the petitioner institution. There is also no dispute between the parties about the minority character of the petitioner. During the academic session 2014-15, a Joint Entrance Test for admission to B. Ed. course was conducted by the fourth respondent (Bundelkhand University, Jhansi). As per the Government Orders occupying the field, fifty percent of the seats were required to be filled up from students recommended by the fourth respondent based on their interse merit in the Joint Entrance Test. The petitioner's institution which has an approved intake of 100 students thus admitted 50 students as per the recommendation made by the fourth respondent. The remaining fifty percent of the seats under the management quota were filled up by the petitioner institution of its own by admitting 41 minority students and 9 students from other communities.
(3.) According to the petitioner, the total strength of minority students admitted in the institution is 51 as 41 students were admitted by it from its own sources and 10 students of minority community came to be admitted as a result of recommendation made by the fourth respondent. The petitioner furnished details of the admissions made against 100 seats in the institution to the third respondent by letter dated 9 January 2015. The third respondent by communication dated 25 March 2015, requested the Principal Secretary, Higher Education, Anubhag-3, U.P. Government, Lucknow to clarify about the right of a minority institution to admit students of the other communities under the management quota. However, it seems that no clarification was given in that regard by the State Government. The petitioner institution completed all the formalities to entitle its students to appear in the University Examination. However, the third respondent declined to issue admit card to the 9 non-minority students admitted under the management quota. The petitioner institution made representation to the University and to the State Government reminding them of the law laid down by the Supreme Court in the case of P.A. Inamdar vs. State of Maharashtra, 2005 6 SCC 537 and requested for issuance of the admit card of those students as well. However, when the University still did not issue admit card to these students, the petitioner institution preferred the instant writ petition seeking a mandamus directing the second and the third respondent to issue examination forms and admit card and conduct examination of the students of non-minority community admitted by the petitioner institution under the management quota during the academic session 2014-15.;