Supreme Court Upholds 25% Domicile Reservation at NLU Jodhpur
The Supreme Court has backed the Rajasthan High Court’s decision to allow a 25% reservation for local students at the National Law University (NLU) in Jodhpur. This means students from Rajasthan will continue to get priority in admissions through the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT).
A bench of Justices P.S. Narasimha and Atul S. Chandurkar made it clear they won’t step in. "We’re not inclined to interfere with the High Court’s order under Article 136 of the Constitution. The Special Leave Petition (SLP) is dismissed," they ruled simply.
The case started when CLAT aspirant Anindita Biswas filed a petition in the Rajasthan High Court. She argued that the domicile-based quota breaks Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution, which promise equality. Biswas also said it goes against the National Law University, Jodhpur Act of 1999. She called the policy "arbitrary, unreasonable, and violative of equal rights."
But on June 10, a High Court bench of Justices Dr Pushpendra Singh Bhati and Chandra Prakash Shrimali turned down her plea. They pointed out that Rajasthan, as the founder and funder of NLU Jodhpur, has the right to set such policies. "This step promotes legal education for local students and isn’t arbitrary or unconstitutional," the judges said.
The High Court leaned on past Supreme Court judgments like Dr. Pradeep Jain v. Union of India and Saurabh Chaudri v. Union of India. These cases support residence-based preferences in backward areas to level the playing field. "Such quotas help reduce development gaps and fit within Article 14," they noted.
Plus, the court highlighted that many other National Law Universities (NLUs) across India already offer similar state domicile quotas. "Rajasthan is just aligning NLU Jodhpur with what other NLUs do. There’s no breach of law here," the judgment added.
In the end, the High Court found the policy fully constitutional and a fair use of state powers in education. Now, with the Supreme Court’s nod, the 25% Rajasthan domicile reservation in NLU Jodhpur admissions stays put, giving local talent a better shot at quality legal education.
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