“Grant 0.5% Interim Reservation To Transgenders”: Karnataka HC To NLSIU

The Karnataka High Court has recently instructed the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) to reserve 0.5% of seats for transgender persons in its admissions until the university develops a formal transgender reservation policy.

Additionally, the court mandated that NLSIU provide a fee waiver for transgender students admitted under this reservation and seek appropriate grants from the state or central governments for this purpose.

The court also directed NLSIU to comply with the Supreme Court’s 2014 ruling in the case of National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) vs. Union of India. This ruling required the formulation of a reservation system for transgender persons, along with measures to offer financial assistance for transgender students pursuing education. The court emphasized that these provisions should be in place before the next academic year’s admission process begins.

Justice Ravi V. Hosmani issued these directions while disposing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by 33-year-old Mugil Anbu Vasantha. The court’s interim decision of providing 0.5% reservation for transgender students was based on the fact that the state government has already reserved 1% of public recruitment posts for transgender individuals.

In August 2023, the court had instructed NLSIU to provisionally admit the petitioner, Vasantha, into its three-year LLB course for the 2023-24 academic year. However, Vasantha could not attend classes as he could not pay the remaining ₹3.25 lakh of the ₹3.75 lakh first-year fee, having only paid ₹50,000.

Vasantha had requested financial aid or a fee waiver from NLSIU, but despite the university offering to cover the interest on a student loan, the petitioner could not afford to take the loan.

The court noted that due to non-payment of fees, the petitioner was not eligible to sit for exams as he had not attended classes. In light of these circumstances, the court ordered NLSIU to admit Vasantha under the interim transgender reservation, provided there were no other transgender applicants or admitted students for the current academic year.

The court also instructed the State government to take action regarding transgender reservation in education and to formulate policies for reservation and fee reimbursement in line with the Supreme Court’s guidelines in the NALSA case.

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