Srinagar, Oct 24: The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh has clarified that the three percent reservation extended to Children of Defence Personnel (CDP) under the J&K Reservation Rules, 2005, is an overall horizontal reservation, not a compartmentalized one. The clarification came while dismissing a petition filed by a candidate seeking admission under the CDP quota in NEET-UG 2025.
Justice Sanjay Dhar observed that horizontal reservation cuts across vertical categories, meaning candidates selected under CDP quota must be adjusted within their respective categories such as Open Merit, Scheduled Caste, or Scheduled Tribe. The Court said, “A person selected against CDP quota will have to be placed in the appropriate category.”
The petitioner, Ravneet Kour, belonging to the Scheduled Tribe-2 category, had alleged that the Board of Professional Entrance Examination (BOPEE) ignored her candidature despite her higher priority under the CDP quota. BOPEE countered that the 3% quota for female CDP candidates was already exhausted as 21 MBBS and 3 BDS seats had been filled on merit, exceeding the prescribed 14-seat limit.
The Court held that the petitioner failed to specify any lower-priority candidates who were wrongly selected and found no illegality in BOPEE’s admission process. Justice Dhar concluded that the CDP quota was fully satisfied and that merit-based selection could not be disturbed.
Notably, Vertical Reservation applies to broad social categories such as Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC). Seats under vertical reservation are fixed within these categories based on population proportion. Horizontal Reservation cuts across all vertical categories. It applies to specific groups like Children of Defence Personnel (CDP), physically challenged persons, or women. [KNT]
