Photo: Mathrubhumi Archives
New Delhi: In a major move, the Supreme Court of India has pronounced that Muslim candidates from Karnataka are not eligible for minority reservation in Kerala. Only those who are from Kerala can claim the seats reserved for Muslims, the apex court pointed out in its judgement.
The court also upheld the Kerala High Court’s judgement over the matter. In its verdict, the Kerala High Court had declared that a person who produces a certificate issued from another state will not be eligible to get an appointment under minority quota in Kerala.
A division bench including justice Ajay Rastogi and justice CT Ravi Kumar asserted that rules on the reservation are determined by the state governments.
The Supreme Court issued the judgement while considering a plea over the appointment of Karnataka native B Muhammad Ismail in the IT department at Kannur University. The Kerala High Court had nullified the appointment of Ismail in the post reserved for minority groups. Kannur University and Ismail had approached the Supreme Court by challenging the High Court order.
While considering their plea, the Supreme Court on Friday upheld the HC order.
Kannur University has argued that Muhammad Ismail was appointed after conducting a national level interview based on UGC rules 2018. The Muslim community is identified as a minority group in Karnataka and Kerala. Pointing out this, the university claimed that there is nothing wrong with Ismail’s appointment.
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