Supreme Court upholds reservation under EWS quota

Economically backward people will continue to have 10% reservations in educational institutions and government jobs. A five-member Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court on Monday upheld the reservation under the EWS quota.

A five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice UU Lalit ruled in favour of the EWS quota with a majority and held that the 103rd Constitutional Amendment is valid.

Supreme Court upholds reservation

Judge Bela M Trivedi also upheld the law. A five-judge bench, headed by the Chief Justice and consisting of Justices Dinesh Maheshwari, S Ravindra Bhat, Bela M Trivedi and JB Pardiwala, was ruling on a series of legal questions relating to the validity of the 103rd Amendment to the Constitution that provides for a 10 per cent reserve for the economically weaker sectors.

Sections 15(6) and 16(6) were introduced into the Constitution - with the 103rd Amendment Act - providing a 10 per cent reservation on jobs and admissions to EWS, who had to be persons other than SC, ST and OBC and whose annual household income was below ₹8 lakh.

Hearing the EWS case, the court said its decision would be based on answering three fundamental questions, including whether the amendment changed the basic structure of the constitution by allowing economic status to be a reservation factor.

Justice S. Ravindra Bhat was the only judge to dissent, calling the law "discriminatory and in violation of the basic structure."

Justice Maheshwari said, "Reservation is a positive measure not only for the economically backward but also for the interest of any disadvantaged class. Therefore, reservation only on economic grounds does not violate the Constitution. SC/ST and OBCs are given EWS. Keeping out of quota is also constitutionally correct. EWS reservation is constitutional in addition to the 50 per cent fixed reservation limit."

What's the whole matter?

Under the Constitution of India, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other backward classes have a 50 per cent reservation in educational institutions and government posts.

• SC, ST and OBC have got 50 percent reservation under the constitution.
• A provision of reservation was made for the poor students of upper castes by constitutional amendment.
• EWS reservation has been challenged in the Supreme Court. The verdict was reserved from 27 September.
• The question was raised in the court whether EWS reservation is a violation of the basic structure of the Constitution.

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