10% EWS quota: SC says it will look at whether the law violates its fundamental principles.

  • Sept. 9, 2022, 12:40 p.m.

A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, hearing petitions against the 10 per cent quota for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in government jobs and admissions, will examine whether the Constitution (103rd Amendment) Act, by which it was introduced, violates the basic structure of the Constitution.

On Thursday, a five-judge bench, presided by Chief Justice of India U.U. Lalit, decided to examine three of the four issues suggested by Attorney General K K Venugopal on the matter.

These are "whether the 103rd Constitution amendment can be said to breach the basic structure of the Constitution by permitting the State to make special provisions, including reservation, based on economic criteria"; "whether it can be said to breach the basic structure of the Constitution by permitting the State to make special provisions in relation to admission to private unaided institutions"; and "whether it can be said to breach the basic structure of the Constitution in excluding the SEBCs (Socially and Educationally Backward Classes)/OBCs (Other Backward Classes)/STs (Schedule

The Attorney General had drafted four issues for the consideration of the bench. The bench, also comprising Justices Dinesh Maheshwari, S Ravindra Bhat, Bela M Trivedi, and J B Pardiwala, which perused the matter, was of the view that the first three issues were the pertinent ones.

"Having considered the matter, in our opinion, (the) first three issues suggested by the Attorney General are the issues which arise in the matter," the bench said in its order. "Whatever has been suggested by other issues by the learned counsel is in the nature of submissions advancing one of the propositions emerging from the issues suggested by the Attorney General."

It has fixed September 13 to commence hearing arguments from the different sides in the matter.

The bench, who was entrusted with the task of collating the questions suggested by the different counsel, told the bench that many of them had raised the point of whether the amendment violated the basic structure by not providing for the exclusion of the creamy layer from the EWS.

The AG, however, wondered "how that question (could) arise". He asked "where is the question of the creamy layer when we are talking about the poorest of the poor?" and that the question "really does not arise".

Author : Rajdhani Delhi Representative

Rajdhani delhi representative

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