10% reservation for Economically Weaker Section (EWS) for Veterinary and Dental Courses under KEAM

Recently, the Kerala High Court upheld a plea filed by Advocate C. Dheeraj Rajan and Anand Kalyanakrishnan to increase the number of seats to the Veterinary and Dental Courses for the economically weaker section under Kerala Engineering Architecture and Medical (KEAM). The said provision of 10% reservation for EWS in KEAM was established by government order on 20-03-2020 but post the order, the government pleader endorsed that it was a policy decision of the state delaying its implementation. 

The petitioner who belonged to the EWS category had applied for the KEAM entrance examination but was not allotted the seat stating that the government order is still in consideration. Hence, his denial of the seat was an infringement of his right to education. However, post-hearing of the matter, he was told to withdraw the matter with the suggestion to move afresh. He filed a writ petition contending that the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment had issued an office memorandum dated 17th January 2019 directing the implementation of EWS in all the educational institutions with the prior approval of the concerned authority. 

The plea filed by Advocate Rajan and Anand contented that the EWS scheme is beneficial legislation and has to be implemented in a bona fide manner to benefit the weaker sections of the society. It has to be implemented under all circumstances. Once it takes effect through a government order, it becomes a vested right of the eligible candidates to be identified under the said category. On hearing this matter today, the Kerala High Court upheld the 10% reservation and ordered its implementation as soon as possible.

Author: Papiha Ghoshal