J. Venkatesan

NEW DELHI: In a major setback to the Centre, the Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the implementation of the 27 per cent quota for Other Backward Classes in elite educational institutions like IITs and IIMs for 2007-08.

A Bench comprising Justice Arijit Pasayat and Justice L.S. Panda however said that the quota for SC/STs could be implemented by the Centre in these educational institutions.

The Bench was dealing with a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of a legislation enacted by the centre to provide for 27 per cent quota for OBCs. The Court rejected the argument of the Centre that the quota would be staggered in three years by correspondingly increasing the total number of seats in these institutions.

The Bench said the State is empowered to enact affirmative action to help the backward classes, but it should not be unduly adverse to those who are left out. The Bench further said “reservation cannot be permanent and appear to perpetrate backwardness. If the seats in the central educational institutions were increased without reservation it would have gone to the general category.”

Indicting the Government for enacting such a law, the Bench said “nowhere in the world Castes queue to be branded as backward. Nowhere is there a competition to become backward. With this Act the subject of the equality is unduly put under strain.”

On the contention of the Centre that it had taken the 1931 census as basis for fixing 27% quota for OBCs, the bench said what may have been the data in 1931 census cannot be a determinative factor now. The concept of creamy layer is not prima-facie relevant as contented by the Centre. “The Bench further said there is no explanation as to why there is no firm data for determining backwardness.” As a result unequals are treated as equals.

The petitions had challenged the law contending that it would have wide ramification and divide the country on caste basis, resulting in anarchy and affecting communal harmony as well as jeopardising the constitutional rights to equality. Vote banks should be replaced with talent banks and not with caste politics.

The centre justified the enactment saying that the OBCs and SC/STs have been oppressed for centuries and this act was indented the correct a historical wrong done to them.

The Bench while staying the law directed listing of the petition for final hearing in the first week of August.

Related story: