SC upholds OBC quota, keeps creamy layer out

Sourced from www.ibnlive.com.

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a law which provides for 27 per cent reservation for Other Backward Castes (OBCs) in educational institutions supported by the Central government.

A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan ruled that the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006, does not violate the basic structure of the Constitution.

The court ruled the 93rd Constitutional Amendment Act, which was the basis of the law providing 27 per cent reservation in aided institutions, didn’t violate the basic structure of the Constitution.

However, the court also ruled that creamy layer among the OBCs cannot get the benefit of quota. On quota in private un-aided institutions, four judges left the issue open and one judge ruled it would violate of the basic structure of the Constitution.

The 500-page verdict came on a petition by anti-quota activists challenging the Act. They had vehemently opposed government's move saying caste cannot be the starting point for identifying backward classes.

The court’s interim order of March 29, 2007, staying the implementation of the quota has now been lifted after Thursday’s order.

The court held that the delegation of power to the Centre to determine OBCs is valid.

The court also added that reservation cannot be in perpetuity, and should be revised at periodic intervals. The court also said the government can decide when to implement the quota this year itself.

Following the judgement 49. 5 percent of the seats in higher educational institutes would be reserved. The Schedule Castes (SCs) and Schedule Tribes (STs) enjoy a 22.5 per cent reservation. While the SCs have 15 per cent reservation, for the STs it is 7.5 per cent.

Reacting to the judgement, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said, "We wanted the reservation and are happy about it but the problem is that government had promised that within three years it will create extra seats so that nobody suffers."

Youth for Equality Founder Member Anirudh Lochan said that the students are really angry all over the country and they were planning their next step.

Youth for Equality was in the forefront of anti-reservation protests across the country after the United Progressive Alliance Government decided to implement the quota for OBCs.

What is the quota row

It is the controversial proposal to increase reservation for other backward classes in higher education institutes.

The decision will impact 20 central universities, the IITs, IIMs and colleges supported by the Government. The Government accepting the Mandal Commission’s suggestion of 27 per cent reservation for backward classes in Government educational institutions and the quota increase is a part of this.