The Delhi High Court has ruled that all DU colleges must strictly reserve 5% seats for Sports and ECA categories. The Court clarified the quota is compulsory and must be followed in future admissions.
New Delhi: On September 1, the Delhi High Court has made it clear that all colleges under the University of Delhi (DU) must strictly follow the rule of keeping 5% seats reserved for Extra-Curricular Activities (ECA) and Sports quota in future admissions.
The Court passed this direction while disposing of a writ petition filed by a CBSE national-level gold medalist in lawn tennis, who was denied admission under the quota.
ALSO READ: ‘Mumbai At Standstill’: Bombay High Court Slams Manoj Jarange Over Maratha Quota Protest
The petition was filed by Aditi Rawat, a minor, represented by her mother Anita Rawat. She had sought admission to Hindu College for the academic year 2025-26 under the Sports Quota.
Her lawyer, Advocate Jeetender Gupta, along with Advocates Bharat Rawat and Ashish Mishra, told the Court that DU’s admission policy clearly provides that 5% of the total seats in each college must be reserved for ECA and Sports.
However, Hindu College had allotted only 10 seats each for ECA and Sports, despite having a sanctioned strength of 956 seats. This meant that instead of the required 47 seats, only 20 were offered.
On behalf of Hindu College, it was argued that the quota mentioned in DU’s Information Bulletin was not compulsory.
But the University of Delhi, in its affidavit filed before the Court, confirmed that colleges are indeed bound to follow the 5% reservation rule for ECA and Sports admissions.
Taking note of this, Justice Vikas Mahajan said that the affidavit left no scope for confusion and that the quota is compulsory. However, since the centralised process for Sports Supernumerary Quota admissions for this session was already completed, no immediate relief could be given to the petitioner.
The Court also noted that the student had already secured admission in Lady Shri Ram College under the Sports quota.
During the hearing, Advocate Gupta also pointed out that DU had issued a public notice for spot admissions. The Court clarified on this issue and said that the notice applied only to “regular sanctioned seats, not to supernumerary Sports/ECA quotas.”
Finally, the counsel for the petitioner requested that the Court ensure compliance in the coming years. DU’s counsel also supported this request.
Accepting it, Justice Mahajan expressed hope that in future, DU colleges would
“henceforth strictly follow the Information Bulletin guidelines regarding the mandatory 5% ECA/Sports quota.”
The writ petition was accordingly disposed of with these directions, the Court said in its order.
Click Here to Read Previous Reports on DU colleges
