New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the 10 per cent reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in admissions and government jobs with a 3:2 majority.
Three out of five judges delivered verdicts in favour of the EWS quota, saying it did not violate the law.
The EWS quota is not discriminatory and does not alter the basic structure of the constitution, said the majority judgment of the apex court bench. Two judges dissented, including Chief Justice UU Lalit, who retires on Tuesday.
The five-judge Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) UU Lalit, Justice Dinesh Maheshwari, Justice S Ravindra Bhat, Justice Bela M Trivedi, and Justice JB Pardiwala was hearing pleas challenging the 103rd Constitution Amendment, which provides for a 10 per cent reservation for EWS.
Justice Ravindra Bhat, the other dissenting judge, said he supported quota for the economically backward, but the exclusion of the socially backward sections is not allowed in the constitution.
“Economic destitution, economic backwardness is the backbone of this amendment and on this account, amendment is constitutionally indefeasible. However, excluding the classes such as Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes (OBC) is not constitutionally permissible,” Justice Bhat said.
Chief Justice UU Lalit said: “I have concurred with the view taken by Justice Bhat. The decision stands at 3:2.”
The EWS quota was introduced through the 103rd constitutional amendment, cleared in January 2019 by the Centre soon after the ruling BJP lost the Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh elections. It was instantly challenged in the Supreme Court.
Justice Dinesh Maheshwari said, “There are some issues and points of determination as to whether it violated basic structure, secondly, if the exclusion of backward classes from getting EWS is violating the equality code and basic structure.”
The court delved into whether there was a breach of the 50% ceiling. Later, Justice Dinesh Maheshwari concluded, saying, “It does not violate the equality code and basic structure.”
Justice Bela Trivedi said, “I have concurred with Justice Dinesh Maheshwari.”