OBC admission eligibility must be fixed in advance by reference to qualifying marks, not the last general-category admittee.

The clarificatory order used the phrase "cut-off marks" in different senses, but not to mean the marks secured by the last general-category admittee. It fixed OBC minimum eligibility at up to 10% below the minimum eligibility or qualifying marks prescribed for general-category candidates. Eligibility could not be determined only after general-category admissions were completed, because that would make the criterion arbitrary and discriminatory; the governing marks must be known in advance and applied uniformly. OBC seats were therefore to be filled by candidates meeting the prescribed minimum marks, with conversion of unfilled seats permitted only when such candidates were unavailable.

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Issues: Whether the expression "cut-off marks" in the clarificatory order dated 14.10.2008 meant the minimum eligibility or qualifying marks for general-category candidates, or the marks secured by the last candidate admitted in the general category, and whether OBC admissions could be restricted by reference to the latter.

Analysis: The expression "cut-off marks" was examined in the context of the earlier Constitution Bench decision, the clarificatory order, and the usage of the term in academic admission practice. The words were held to have been used in different senses in the same order, but not to mean the marks secured by the last general-category candidate. The context showed that the direction was intended to cap the permissible relaxation for OBC candidates at 10% below the minimum eligibility or qualifying marks prescribed for general-category candidates. The reasoning further held that fixing OBC eligibility only after general-category admissions were completed, by reference to the last admitted general-category candidate, was arbitrary and discriminatory because eligibility criteria must be known in advance and applied uniformly.

Conclusion: The clarificatory order required OBC minimum eligibility or qualifying marks to be fixed up to 10% below the general-category eligibility or qualifying marks, not by reference to the marks of the last general-category admittee. The OBC seats were to be filled by OBC candidates possessing the prescribed minimum marks, and unfilled seats could be converted only if such candidates were unavailable.

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