Delhi HC Directs DU Colleges To Strictly Follow 5% Sports, ECA Quota In Future Admissions

Delhi High Court

In a significant ruling, the Delhi High Court has made it clear that all colleges affiliated with the University of Delhi (DU) are legally bound to provide 5% reservation for students applying through Extra-Curricular Activities (ECA) and Sports quotas.

The court’s direction came while hearing a petition by a national-level tennis player who alleged denial of her rightful seat.

Student Challenges Hindu College Over Quota Lapses

The writ petition was filed by Aditi Rawat, a CBSE national gold medalist in lawn tennis, through her mother Anita Rawat. She approached the court after Hindu College failed to allot her a Sports quota seat for the 2025–26 session.

Her counsel, Advocate Jeetender Gupta, assisted by Advocates Bharat Rawat and Ashish Mishra, argued that DU’s admission guidelines explicitly state that “5% of the total intake in every college must be reserved for ECA/Sports candidates.”

Despite this, Hindu College had earmarked only 10 seats each for ECA and Sports out of its 956 sanctioned seats—far short of the mandatory 47 seats.

Hindu College vs DU: Contradictory Positions

Hindu College defended its stance by claiming that the quota mentioned in the DU Information Bulletin was not mandatory. However, the University itself contradicted this claim.

In an affidavit before the Court, DU confirmed that all colleges are obligated to reserve 5% of their sanctioned intake for ECA and Sports.

Justice Vikas Mahajan observed that the university’s submission removed all ambiguity: the quota is compulsory, and colleges cannot dilute or ignore it.

No Interim Relief For This Year

Despite acknowledging the lapse, the Court noted that the centralised admission process for supernumerary Sports quota seats had already concluded for the 2025 session. Since Aditi had meanwhile secured a seat at Lady Shri Ram College under the Sports quota, the Court declined to intervene further for the current year.

During arguments, the petitioner’s counsel also pointed to a DU notice on spot admissions. The Court, however, clarified that the notice applied only to regular seats, not to supernumerary categories like Sports and ECA.

Before closing the case, the petitioner’s counsel urged the Court to ensure that such violations do not recur. Supporting the request, DU’s lawyer assured compliance in upcoming admissions.

Justice Mahajan, while disposing of the petition, expressed confidence that DU colleges will strictly implement the mandatory 5% reservation from now on.