CPI(M) Lok Sabha MP K Radhakrishnan has written to Union Education Minister Pralhad Joshi seeking urgent intervention over an alleged shortfall in reserved seats for Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) candidates in Jawaharlal Nehru University’s (JNU) PhD admissions for the 2026-27 academic year.
In a letter dated October 29, Radhakrishnan, who represents Alathur in Kerala, alleged that the university had drastically reduced the number of seats allocated to these categories in its PhD admission prospectus.
According to the letter, JNU has allocated 38 seats to ST candidates against the 53 required under the 7.5% reservation quota out of 711 seats. SC candidates have been allocated 103 seats against the 107 required under the 15% quota.
The shortfall is also evident in the PwBD category. Against the 5% reservation requirement of 36 seats, the university has allocated only 17, according to the MP.
Radhakrishnan said the prospectus therefore fell short by a total of 38 seats across the three categories: 15 for ST candidates, four for SC candidates and 19 for PwBD candidates.
“This denial of constitutional representation in one of India’s premier higher education institutions is a clear violation of social justice and equity,” he wrote, adding that such practices deprived marginalised students of higher academic opportunities.
He urged the education minister to direct the JNU administration to withdraw the prospectus, correct the seat allocation and restore the reserved seats without delay.
Students Protest Alleged Reservation Shortfall
The MP’s intervention comes amid an ongoing protest at JNU over the PhD admission process.
The Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students’ Association (BAPSA) has been holding an indefinite sit-in at the university’s T-Point since October 24, alleging irregularities in the allocation of reserved seats.
The organisation claims that 15 ST seats and four SC seats have been left unfilled and has demanded that they be re-notified.
BAPSA has also questioned the exclusion of candidates from the June 2025 UGC-NET cycle, which it says was initially included in the list of eligible cycles but later left out without prior notice.
The organisation has further alleged that the administration agreed to form a committee to examine the reservation issue but proceeded to notify the PhD viva voce process without resolving the matter.
JNUSU councillor Komal Devi said the university had issued an admission notice halting admissions under the NET category, while JRF-category admissions were scheduled to begin on October 30.
She said the protest would continue until the 15 ST and four SC seats were re-notified, and warned that students would oppose the viva voce process if their demands were not addressed.
BAPSA has also called for the implementation of reservation in the interview process, the publication of category-wise seat allocations across departments and centres, and the implementation of recommendations made by various university committees.
The organisation has released figures alleging that JNU failed to meet reservation requirements across SC, ST, OBC and PwBD categories over the past decade. These figures have not been independently verified.
Radhakrishnan is a member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs and the Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
