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In response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by the alumni association of IIM – Global IIM Alumni Network, the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A) informed the Gujarat High Court on Thursday that it has decided to implement reservations for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC) candidates in its PhD program. This change in stance comes after IIM-A initially expressed concerns about potential inequities for deserving and meritorious students if reservations were implemented in the PhD/FPM (Fellow Programme in Management) course.
Bhadrish Raju, the lawyer representing IIM-A, confirmed in court, “There is an affidavit filed by the institution (IIM-A) in which they have said that they have come to a conclusion that they want to implement reservation in their PhD programme in due course.”
The PIL, initiated in 2021, contended that IIM-A, despite being governed and funded by the Union education ministry, was allegedly violating the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006 (CERA Act), during its PhD program admissions. The Act provides for reservation of students belonging to SC, ST, and OBC categories to the extent of 15%, 7.5%, and 27% respectively, in Central educational institutions. The petitioner argued that despite being a Central institution under the Act, IIM-A had not provided reservation for admission to its PhD program, which was earlier known as FPM.
While the court sought more details about IIM-A’s recent decision, Raju requested time to consult with the client. The court granted the extension, setting October 19 as the next hearing date. The PIL highlighted that 15 out of 20 IIMs in the country provide reservation for the same program as per the CERA Act.
IIM-A, in its earlier submissions, had argued that for a specialized high-level doctoral program of this nature, introducing reservation policies might lead to unintended consequences. It contended that neither the Constitution of India nor any other legislation contemplates the implementation of reservations for advanced-level specialized courses or programs. However, the recent affidavit signals a shift in the institute’s approach, aligning it with the statutory provisions of the CERA Act.
