New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has restrained the Delhi University from filling one law course seat for the academic year 2011-12.

The seat is among the 50 vacant Other Backward Classes (OBC) category seats allowed by court to be offered to general category students.

The court direction came on a petition by L.L.B. course aspirant Salma Khan, who belongs to the OBC category.

"One out of the 50 OBC (category) seats directed to be converted into general (category) seats be not filled up till further orders," the division bench of Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice Sunil Gaur said in an order made available on Saturday.

While issuing notice to the university, the court sought its response by Oct 24, the next date of hearing.

Salma Khan, through her counsel Sitab Ali Chaudhary, appealed before the division bench against an order of a single judge bench which earlier disposed off her petition with the direction that the university would allow her to participate in the special counseling for the vacant seats but as a general category candidate.

The petition said that the single judge failed to consider that she was a student entitled to be considered for admission for a seat in L.L.B. course under OBC quota only.

"It is pertinent to mention here that these seats are not of general category but belong to the OBC category only," said the petition.

Chaudhary said the Delhi university did not give her admission against the vacant 50 seats of L.L.B, despite her qualifying in the entrance test.

He said she achieved a rank of 444 - much above the last admitted candidate the OBC category who had a rank of 1,017.

On Oct 3, Justice Kailash Gambhir said: "Courts have consistently held that every endeavour by the university and all other institutions should be made to fill all the seats as wastage of seats is not only at the cost of the public exchequer but at the cost of depriving a number of aspiring students struggling to get admission...."

Justice Gambhir directed the university to convert 50 OBC category seats, which were vacant since the completion of the admission process, into general category seats.

The court ordered holding of a special counseling session for students after notifying candidates belonging to the general category.

Justice Gambhir passed the order on a plea by a group of students seeking direction to the university to convert the vacant OBC category seats into general category seats. IANS