By Weindrila Sen-
Karnataka HC took cognisance and issues Notice on Petition Challenging 25% domicile reservation at NLSIU Bangalore. The Petition is filed by a 17-year-old student named Balachandar Krishan, he raised the question on the constitutional validity of the amendment made to the National Law School of India(Amendment) Act, 2020 on 27.04.2020 by the state government. As per the newest amendment, there will be a domicile reservation of 25% seats at NLSIU, for the students of Karnataka. The Amendment will reserve 25% of the total seats for students in Karnataka having more than 10 years of the study period in the State, before CLAT 2020.
The Petitioner has applied to take the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT), this year, to get a seat at NLSIU in their five-year law course, BA LLB. The sudden amendment on 27.04.2020, which is three months after the application process of CLAT got over, will affect the probable chance of the Petitioner to get a seat at the prestigious college.
The Plea also mentions that the Amendment Act is ultra vires to Article 14 of the Constitution of India. It further states that NLSIU does not come under the scope of the reservation, as it is not a government institution and it also does not draw any aid from the government.
The Karnataka High Court has issued a notice regarding the matter to the Bar Council of India, NLSIU, the state government, and the central government. The order further states that statement of objection, by any of the respondents, should be bought forward before 31.08.2020, failing to which the Bench will consider the writ petition to be non-resistant.
The matter will be heard next on 13.08.2020.