Lucknow- The controversy over the special 70% seat arrangement for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students in four government medical colleges in Uttar Pradesh: Ambedkar Nagar, Kannauj, Jalaun and Saharanpur, has intensified ahead of the 2026 NEET-UG counselling.
The four institutions have traditionally followed a special admission structure under which 70% of MBBS seats are earmarked for SC/ST students, 15% for OBC students and 15% for the unreserved category. With NEET-UG counselling scheduled to begin on August 13, students fear that the government could suddenly introduce a new seat matrix based on the general reservation norms applicable in Uttar Pradesh, substantially reducing the number of seats available to SC/ST candidates.
The students' concern comes amid a continuing legal dispute over whether the special reservation arrangement in these four colleges can continue despite the Uttar Pradesh statutory reservation framework.
The Mooknayak spoke to Arun Sonkar, a final-year MBBS student at Government Medical College, Kannauj, who said that students are particularly worried because the seat matrix has not yet been announced. According to the students, seat matrices are generally released around 10–15 days before counselling, but this time there is still no clarity on whether the existing 70% SC/ST arrangement will continue.
Sonkar said the students fear that the government could release a revised seat matrix immediately before or along with counselling, applying the ordinary Uttar Pradesh reservation norms. If that happens, students who have been preparing for admission under the existing arrangement could suddenly face a significant reduction in available SC/ST seats.
The students staged a peaceful protest at Eco Garden in Lucknow on August 9, demanding that the government clarify the status of the four colleges before counselling begins and preserve the existing arrangement until the Supreme Court gives its final decision on the legal dispute.
The memorandum submitted by the students to the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister states that the four medical colleges were established under the Special Component Plan (SCP) and related special funds, with the objective of promoting the educational, social and economic advancement of SC/ST communities.
The numerical structure of the 100 MBBS seats in each college is central to understanding the controversy.
According to the government records discussed in the Allahabad High Court proceedings, the 100 seats were divided into 64 SC, 6 ST, 15 OBC and 15 unreserved seats. In other words, SC and ST candidates together received 70 seats out of 100.
The 15 seats under the All India/Central Quota are separately allocated. The government table placed before the High Court records these 15 seats as comprising 2 SC, 1 ST, 4 OBC and 8 unreserved seats. The remaining 85 State Quota seats comprise 62 SC, 5 ST, 11 OBC and 7 unreserved seats.
Thus, when the two components are added, the overall 100-seat structure becomes 64 SC + 6 ST + 15 OBC + 15 unreserved = 100 seats.
This is the 70% arrangement that students say has operated in these institutions.
The handwritten calculation prepared by the students also explains the same formula: out of 100 seats, 15 are under the All India Quota and 85 under the State Quota. Of the 15 AIQ seats, approximately two fall to SC and one to ST under the applicable central reservation formula. The State Quota then contains 62 SC and five ST seats, taking the total SC/ST allocation to 70.
This is the central fear among the students.
The Uttar Pradesh Admission to Educational Institutions Reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes Act, 2006 provides for 21% reservation for SCs, 2% for STs and 27% for OBCs.
The Allahabad High Court's August 25, 2025 judgment in the Sabra Ahmad v. State of Uttar Pradesh matter relied on this statutory framework while examining the special reservation arrangement in the four medical colleges.
The key difference is substantial. Under the existing special arrangement, 70% of the total seats are for SC/ST students. Under the general UP reservation framework, SC and ST reservations together amount to 23%.
However, the actual number of seats that would be available to SC/ST candidates cannot be calculated simply by applying 21% and 2% to all 100 seats because the 15 All India Quota seats and the 85 State Quota seats operate through different allocation mechanisms. The final 2026 government seat matrix will be necessary to determine the precise category-wise impact.
Students have estimated that around 180–200 MBBS seats could potentially be lost to SC/ST candidates across the four colleges if the special arrangement is replaced.
There are 400 MBBS seats across the four colleges. Under the existing 70% arrangement, 280 seats are allocated to SC/ST students across the four institutions. Any move to the ordinary reservation structure would substantially reduce that number.
The controversy is not merely about a percentage of reservation. It is also about why these four medical colleges were established and how they were funded.
The Special Component Plan, later known as the Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan, was designed to ensure targeted allocation of resources for the development of Scheduled Castes. Its focus included sectors such as education, health and socio-economic development.
In the proceedings before the Allahabad High Court, the State government itself referred to the SCP funding behind the establishment of these medical colleges. The government relied on the special nature of the institutions while defending the 70% SC/ST arrangement.
The High Court record refers to Planning Commission guidelines which provided for targeted expenditure and facilities for SC/ST beneficiaries in institutions established under SCP/TSP-related arrangements. The record also discusses a framework under which 70% of expenditure could be met from SCP/TSP funds and 30% from the General Plan.
For these medical colleges, government orders recorded a corresponding admission arrangement of 70% SC/ST, 15% OBC and 15% general category.
The students therefore argue that if the institutions were created with targeted funds for a specific social purpose, their admission structure should not now simply be treated as identical to that of ordinary government medical colleges.
Speaking to The Mooknayak, Arun Sonkar said the four colleges were not established like ordinary government medical colleges.
“These colleges were made under a special plan for a special purpose. If you suddenly make their admission process like ordinary medical colleges, you are effectively ending that purpose,” he said.
Sonkar said the students' demand is no longer limited to obtaining another government order protecting the 70% arrangement. They want the State government to provide statutory protection through legislation.
According to him, government orders can be changed by subsequent governments or administrative decisions. A law passed by the legislature, however, would provide stronger legal protection to the special status of the four institutions.
The students' memorandum submitted to the Chief Minister similarly calls for amendments to the Uttar Pradesh Reservation Act or other necessary legislative provisions to specifically protect the special status of the four colleges.
Sonkar also referred to Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University (BBAU), Lucknow, as an example of an institution where reservation has statutory protection. BBAU provides a 50 percent reservation for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) in all its teaching and research programs. This policy is codified under Chapter VII, Clause 9 of the university’s Academic Ordinance and aligns with its founding statutory mandate to uplift marginalized communities. While standard central universities follow a 22.5 percent quota (15% for SC and 7.5% for ST), BBAU’s statutory framework permits this higher 50 percent allocation to fulfill its specific social justice mission.
The students want a similar legal mechanism for the four medical colleges so that their reservation structure does not become a matter of administrative discretion every year.
Their demand is therefore for an Act or a specific statutory provision protecting the special admission structure of the Ambedkar Nagar, Kannauj, Jalaun and Saharanpur medical colleges.
The memorandum submitted by the students specifically asks the State government to consider amendments to the Uttar Pradesh Reservation Act or other necessary legislative provisions to preserve the special status and admission arrangement of the four colleges.
The four institutions were established at different points between 2006 and 2011.
The Ambedkar Nagar and Jalaun medical colleges were established on November 10, 2006 and January 29, 2008 respectively while Kannauj Medical college was established on January 20, 2010 and the Saharanpur college came in existence on February 21, 2011.
The records before the court connected their establishment with SCP/TSP-related funding and the special 70% SC/ST admission structure.
The colleges were established through funds allocated under the Special Component Plan and Tribal Sub-Plan, with the objective of ensuring the educational, social and economic advancement of SC/ST communities.
The present dispute has its immediate legal roots in the Sabra Ahmad case concerning the NEET counselling and seat matrix for these four medical colleges.
On August 25, 2025, the Allahabad High Court examined the special reservation arrangement. At that time, each college's 85 State Quota seats were shown as 62 SC, 5 ST, 11 OBC and 7 unreserved. Across the four colleges, this amounted to 340 State Quota seats comprising 248 SC, 20 ST, 44 OBC and 28 unreserved seats.
The challenge was based on the argument that the reservation in these colleges exceeded the limits under the Uttar Pradesh Reservation Act, 2006.
The State government, on the other hand, defended the arrangement by referring to the special nature of the institutions, their SCP funding and the government orders providing for 70% SC/ST seats.
The single judge ultimately held that the SCP guidelines could not themselves provide the statutory basis for an admission reservation contrary to the State's reservation law. The court referred to the statutory percentages of 21% for SCs, 2% for STs and 27% for OBCs.
The court therefore quashed the government orders to the extent that they provided for reservation beyond the statutory framework and directed that admissions should comply with the applicable law.
The matter has now reached the Supreme Court, which is set to consider whether colleges established under the Special Component Plan (SCP) are bound by the 50 per cent ceiling limit on reservations.
Sonkar told The Mooknayak that the State government has not yet filed its affidavit in the matter, resulting in repeated delays in the hearing. For the students, however, the delay has a direct consequence. They argue that the Supreme Court should decide the underlying legal question before the new counselling process changes the composition of the student body in these colleges.
Sonkar said the students are particularly concerned that if counselling takes place under a new seat matrix, the students admitted under that matrix could themselves become affected parties in subsequent litigation.
His argument is that once admissions are completed, changing the seat structure again could affect students who have already secured admission. This could create another layer of legal and administrative complications.
A similar concern had arisen during the 2025 litigation, when the court considered the disruption that fresh counselling could cause to students who had already entered the admission process.
For the protesting students, therefore, the demand is not simply to restore or preserve a percentage of reservation. They want the legal issue to be settled before a new round of admissions creates another set of competing claims.
In their memorandum to the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, the students have asked the government to retain the existing seat arrangement for SC/ST students in Ambedkar Nagar, Saharanpur, Kannauj and Jalaun. They have also raised the possibility of a loss of approximately 180–200 MBBS seats for SC/ST students and demanded that such a reduction be prevented.
They have specifically asked that the NEET-UG counselling not introduce a seat matrix that reduces the existing SC/ST allocation and that the current arrangement be maintained until the Supreme Court delivers its final decision.
The students have additionally sought legal protection for the special status of the four colleges, effective representation before the Supreme Court where necessary, and a separate policy for institutions established through SCP/TSP funds. The students have presented their demands to public representatives and officials, including Uttar Pradesh's Social Welfare Minister Asim Arun. While the students have received assurances, Sonkar notes that no concrete steps have been taken so far to safeguard the 70% arrangement.
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