Petitioner's belated request to switch from Women's Reservation to Rajasthan Domicile category rejected, emphasizing strict adherence to application correction deadlines
In a significant ruling impacting admission processes in National Law Universities, the Rajasthan High Court (Jaipur Bench) on September 10, 2026, dismissed a writ petition filed by Darshita Gupta seeking to change her reservation category from "Unreserved - Women" to "General Category - Rajasthan Domicile (GC-RJ)" for admission to the five-year integrated law course at NLU Jodhpur.
The petitioner had appeared for the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) 2026 and initially applied under the Unreserved category with reservation under "Women." Upon declaration of results, she secured an All India Rank (AIR) of 649 in the General category and 309 in the Women's category. After the first round of counselling, she realized her omission to claim the Rajasthan Domicile reservation category and requested the Consortium of National Law Universities to consider her candidature under GC-RJ by submitting her domicile certificate. However, this request was denied as it was made after the stipulated deadline for application corrections had expired.
The Court underscored that the petitioner failed to claim or correct her reservation category within the prescribed correction window, which ended on November 9, 2025. The Court held that allowing a change of reservation category post the cut-off date would disrupt the fairness and transparency of the admission process and unfairly displace other candidates who had been considered under the relevant categories from the outset.
Relying on precedents from the Supreme Court and various High Courts, the judgment emphasized that a candidate is bound by the particulars submitted in the original application form, including reservation category. The Court further clarified that the petitioner's reliance on the provision allowing updating of preferences during counselling did not extend to changing the reservation category itself.
An interim order had earlier kept a seat vacant at NLU Jodhpur in anticipation of a favorable decision for the petitioner. However, the Court clarified that such an interim direction does not confer a substantive right to admission when the fundamental application defect remains unrectified.
The Court dismissed the writ petition with no order as to costs, reinforcing the principle that strict compliance with admission deadlines is essential to maintain the integrity of competitive examination processes.
This judgment serves as a precedent for educational institutions and candidates alike, emphasizing that reservation claims must be made timely and that inadvertent omissions or technical glitches do not justify post-deadline modifications in admission applications.
Bottom Line:
A candidate cannot be permitted to change their reservation category after the stipulated deadline for corrections, even if the omission was inadvertent, as it disrupts the admission process and affects other candidates.
Statutory provision(s):
Constitution of India, Article 226; Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) 2026.
