The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Prove that Muslims are not backward: High Court

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Thursday, Dec 06, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Prove that Muslims are not backward: High Court

Legal Correspondent

Reaction to petition challenging quota

HYDERABAD: The High Court on Wednesday asked the petitioners who are challenging the reservation provided to some Muslim castes to prove that these groups are not really backward. The court said that the petitioners will have to place the data before the court.

The bench comprising Justice T. Meena Kumari, Justice B. Prakash Rao, Justice D.S.R. Varma, Justice A. Gopala Reddy and Justice V. Eswariah commenced the final hearing in batch of cases filed by concerned citizens, BC leaders, and some students. They have challenged the action of the State government in providing reservations to the identified castes among the Muslims after declaring them socially and educationally backward. The government granted BC ‘E’ status to these groups.

Time granted

The government wanted the stay on admissions to be lifted. The bench granted time to petitioners to file counter affidavits to the petition filed by the government. Earlier in the day, the Advocate General vehemently argued how the balance of convenience is against continuing the stay on the admissions. He submitted statistics and lamented that for ‘vicarious pleasure’ of the petitioners, who are not really affected, innocent students are being put to loss. The bench at one stage felt that the innocent students from these BC ‘E’ group may not be put to trauma. The counsel for the petitioners said that the interests of the students who lost seats due to this reservation may also be considered. The arguments will commence on Thursday morning.

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