The Supreme Court on Friday declined to stay implementation of a constitutional amendment that gives 10% reservation in jobs & education for economically weaker section of general category. CJI Ranjan Gogoi tagged plea filed by Tehseen Poonawala challenging amendment along with similar pending petitions.
SC declines to stay implementation of constitution amendment that gives 10% reservation in jobs&education for economically weaker section of general category.CJI Ranjan Gogoi tagged plea filed by Tehseen Poonawala challenging amendment along with similar pending petitions
— ANI (@ANI) February 8, 2019
The apex court bench issued a notice to the Centre seeking a reply in the matter.
The Petition filed by Tehseen Poonawala has challenged the 103rd constitutional amendment saying it was against the basic structure of Constitution, which does not allow
any reservation based on economic criteria. The petition further stated that the 50 percent ceiling limit cannot be breached.
Several pleas of the same issue have been filed against the amendment. A similar petition filed by the NGO, Youth for Equality, earlier stated that amendment brought up by the government granting 10 percent reservation to the upper castes violates several basic features of the constitution.
The petition filed by Tehseen Ponnawala stated, ‘Taken together with the fact that the high creamy layer limit of Rs. 8 lakh per annum ensures that elites in the OBCs and SCs/STs capture the reservation benefits repeatedly and the poor sections of these categories remain completely deprived. This is an overwhelming violation of the basic feature equality enriched in Article 14 of the Indian Constitution and elsewhere.’
Earlier on January 25, The Top Court issued a notice to Centre on pleas challenging the constitutional amendment that gives 10 percent reservation in jobs and education for economically weaker section of the general category. However, the top Court refused to stay implementation of 10 percent reservation to the economically weaker section of the general category. A bench of CJI Ranjan Gogoi said “we will examine the issue.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi while hearing the plea filed by NGO, Youth for Equality, gave the Centre four weeks to respond on a batch of petitions that sought the quashing of the amendment on the grounds that economic criterion cannot be the sole basis for reservation.
Rajya Sabha had on January 10 cleared the passage for the passage of the bill granting 10 percent reservation to EWS of the general category.10% general reservation for EWS bill gets Rajya Sabha approval too, step away to become law
While Lok Sabha approved the bill to provide 10% quota for EWS in general category with majority ayes in the Lok Sabha on January 9.
Despite many Political Parties terming it as an electoral stunt, “political gimmick”, almost all backed the bill, which, in a first, extends reservation to upper castes. The Centre’s move is seen as an attempt to address grievances of the upper castes ahead of 2019 General Elections.