High Court Directed DU to Reformulate Criteria for Sports Quota Admissions

The Delhi High Court directed Delhi University to rationalize its norms for admissions under sports quota on 12 September 2012.

The decision came after a division bench of the court comprising Justice A. K. Sikri and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw passed the direction on a petition by a student, Chetna Karnani challenging the test of physical fitness for admission under the quota for chess.

Karnani challenged the mandatory physical fitness test after she failed to clear a 1 km run in six minutes and a 1.5-metre standing broad jump to qualify for admission under the quota for the indoor game.

As per the petition, an indoor game of chess does not require a player to be qualified as an athlete prescribed by the University. Also, it was added that the criterion to qualify fitness test should not be made applicable to indoor games. If it was not removed as a pre-condition, it would defeat the very purpose of including the game of chess under the sports quota.

Karnani is a national-level chess player. D.U introduced the physical fitness test for admission for applicants playing chess from the current academic session, 2012-13.