Delhi High Court directed all DU colleges to mandatorily reserve 5% seats under Sports/ECA quota from 2026-27, after hearing Aditi Rawat’s petition challenging Hindu College’s reduced allocation.

The Delhi High Court orders all the colleges under Delhi University to allocate 5% of their seats for the sports quota from the next academic session of 2026-27, designating it as mandatory. The direction by Justice Vikas Mahajan comes amidst a petition filed by a potential sports quota candidate, Aditi Rawat, who sought a seat in Hindu College through the lawn tennis sports quota for the academic year 2025-26. The order was delivered on August 25 but was released on Saturday.

Rawat’s lawyer argued in the petition that even though the admission brochure for undergraduate courses required colleges to set aside 5% of seats under the Extra-Curricular Activities (ECA)/Sports quota, Hindu College had only reserved about 1%. Out of the total 956 sanctioned seats, the college allotted just 10 seats for ECA and sports instead of the required 47.

The college countered that the brochure did not make it ‘obligatory for them to roll out admissions for the seats through the ECA/sports quota’. However, Rupal Mohinder, the counsel from the university, admitted that it was binding to follow the brochure. But, he argued that the petition will be unproductive since the seat allocation through the supernumerary quota has been closed.

Acknowledging this, Rawat’s counsel chose not to pursue the petition further but urged the court to issue directions ensuring that all colleges adhere to the 5% reservation mandate in the future.

The court stated, “With regard to the above, it is hoped that the colleges of the University of Delhi be careful in the future in following the mandate with regard to the seats under ECA/Sports Admission, which, as per the Information Bulletin of the Academic Session 2025-26, was mandatory.” 

The order is likely to have wide-ranging implications for DU’s admission process, especially for students who depend on non-academic avenues to secure entry into prestigious colleges. Every year, thousands of candidates apply under the Sports and ECA quotas, but inconsistencies in seat allocation across colleges often lead to confusion and disputes. By making the 5% quota mandatory, the court has effectively addressed a gap that colleges had previously interpreted at their discretion.

Read Also: Candidate Files Petition in Delhi High Court Challenging the Omission of Lawn Tennis Under the Sports Quota at Hindu College

Image Credits- The Hindustan Times 

Divyanshi Dusad 

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