Reservation eligibility for children of political sufferers requires full satisfaction of the rule's cumulative definition, not mere participation.

Under Rule 4 of the Karnataka Medical Colleges (Selection of Candidates for Admission) Rules, 1984, the special category for children of political sufferers or freedom fighters was held to require satisfaction of the full definition, not merely proof of a parent's participation in the freedom movement. The Supreme Court applied a purposive construction and treated the word "and" as cumulative, so clause (a) could not be read separately from the specified suffering requirement in clause (b). Reading participation alone would defeat the object of the reservation. On that interpretation, the special category claim was not established and the certificate for appeal was unwarranted.

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Issues: Whether, under Rule 4 of the Karnataka Medical Colleges (Selection of Candidates for Admission) Rules, 1984, a candidate could claim the special category reserved for sons of political sufferers or freedom fighters by relying only on the parent's participation in the freedom movement, without satisfying the further requirement of suffering specified in the rule.

Analysis: The rule was construed as creating a special reservation for identifiable political sufferers whose children were intended to receive the benefit because of the disadvantages flowing from the parent's suffering. The expression "and" in the definition was held to be cumulative and not disjunctive. Reading clause (a) independently of clause (b) would reduce the condition of actual suffering to mere participation and would defeat the object and rationale of the rule. The Court therefore applied a reasonable and purposive construction rather than a purely grammatical one.

Conclusion: The special category claim was not established on the appellant's interpretation of the rule, and the certificate for appeal was unwarranted.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a reservation rule defines a political sufferer by reference to participation coupled with specified suffering, the conditions must be read cumulatively so that the benefit is confined to persons who satisfy the full definition.

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