Sports quota not in statute, limit it, says Hyderabad High Court

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad High Court on Wednesday not-ed that except for video games, almost every sport had been brought under the ambit of the sports quota to enable those who were poor in academics to get backdoor entry into undergraduate medical courses.

As a result, the respective sports and the field of professional education were taking a beating. A division bench comprising Justice V. Ramasubramanian and justice Anis refused to grant relief to a student seeking admission in MBBS course under the sports quota.

It said, “Ultimately persons who gain admission to medical courses lose their flavour for sports if they had any. Those interested in academics are kept out by the less meritorious due to such quotas not borne out of the Constitutional scheme.”

Court says sports quota of no help to student
Ms Pamu Tharuni, who appeared for AP Eamcet 2016, had moved the court seeking to declare the action of the AP government authorities and the NTR University of Health Sciences in not considering those who excelled in games such as Tenni Koit, Power Lifting, Netball, Throwball, Sepaktakraw and Boxing as per GO Ms. No.14, dated October 10, 2014, as illegal.

While dismissing the petition, the Bench stated: “As we have pointed out in yet another case, the reservations for persons excelling in sports, persons participating in NCC etc. are not based on any Constitutional guarantee. Such reservations, in reality, appear to be inventions to dilute the guarantees granted to Backward Classes, Schedule Castes and Scheduled Tribes.”

The Bench felt that “it is high time that there is a rethink on such quotas with no constitutional basis. Reservation for such quotas neither help students become great sports persons in life nor become great professionals in other fields.”

The Bench reminded that a similar petition had been moved in 2015 before the High Court and was dismissed by the court which had observed that through GO Ms. No. 14, the government had merely constituted a committee to make recommendations for including Netball, Tenni Koit etc, but those games had not so far been included within the GO Ms No. 10 dated July 15, 2008, which was issued revising the criteria for admissions under the sports quota.

The erstwhile AP government had listed 28 sports to be eligible for quota through common entrance tests into Engineering, Medical, Agricultural and other professional courses.

In 2005, the government extended the list to 55 sports for the purpose of identifying sportspersons claiming admission in all professional courses in the state.

Following this, it was brought to the notice of the government that a number of litigations had started, questioning the certification of the claims, both the conduct of the game and equivalence of games with official competitions like National Games at all India level, Asiad level and Olympics at the world level.

The AP High Court had also asked the government to come out with a list of disciplines to be covered by sports quota. The government had finally announced that only the list of sports notified in 2000 would be considered.

Plays for studies
1)Football
2) Hockey
3) Volleyball
4) Handball
5) Basketball
6) Tennis
7) Table Tennis
8) Badminton
9) Kabaddi
10) Athleticsstudies

Priority of disciplines for admission in individual/team sports
11) Swimming
12) Gymnastics
13) Weight-lifting
14) Wrestling
15) Boxing
16) Cycling
17) Rowing
18) Shooting
19) Fencing
20) Roller skating
21) Sailing/ Yachting
22) Archery
23) Cricket
24) Chess
25) Kho-Kho
26) Judo
27) Taekwondo