New Delhi, November 7
The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the constitutional validity of 10 per cent quota for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in government jobs and educational institutions, saying it didn’t violate basic structure of the Constitution.
By 3:2 majority, a five-judge Constitution Bench – which had reserved its verdict on September 27 after hearing the petitioners, the Centre and others — declared that the 103rd constitutional amendment providing for the EWS quota was valid.
There were four separate judgments. Justice Dinesh Maheshwari, Justice Bela M Trivedi and Justice JB Pardiwala – who delivered separate verdicts — upheld the validity of EWS quota law, while Justice S Ravindra Bhat delivered a dissenting verdict. CJI UU Lalit agreed with Justice Bhat.
The minority verdict faulted the 103rd Amendment and declared it unconstitutional for excluding the SC/ST and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) from the ambit of EWS reservation.
However, the majority said the EWS quota law did not violate the equality code of the Constitution or the basic structure of the Constitution. On the issue of exceeding the 50 per cent ceiling, the majority said it would not apply to EWS reservation.
“The 103rd Constitution Amendment cannot be said to breach the basic structure of the Constitution by permitting the State to make special provisions, including reservation, based on economic criteria,” Justice Maheshwari held.
He said the amendment cannot 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 or for excluding the socially and educationally backward classes (SEBCs)/OBCs/ SCs/STs from the scope of EWS quota.
