New
Delhi:
The Supreme Court Friday set aside a Madras High Court direction that the
Centre must seek the top court's approval before implementing 10 per cent
reservation for the economically weaker sections (EWS) in all-India quota (AIQ)
seats of medical colleges.
The
apex court made clear however that it is not quashing the entire high court
order passed on August 25 or stating any opinion on its merit but just setting
aside the observations made with regard to top court’s approval on EWS quota.
A
bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and B V Nagarathna said the high court should
not have expressed such an opinion while hearing a contempt petition filed by
ruling DMK party in Tamil Nadu and it has “transgressed its jurisdiction”. It
said, “What the Madras High Court has done is that it has asked the Centre to seek
approval of a five-judge bench which will be hearing a challenge made to the
validity of 103rd constitutional amendment providing 10 per cent EWS quota”.
The
high court cannot transgress its jurisdiction while hearing a contempt
petition, it said. The top court disposed of the Centre’s appeal against the
Madras High Court order. The bench said that it would hear on October 7, a
batch of pleas challenging the Centre’s July 29 notification providing 27 per
cent reservation for Other Backward Class (OBC) and 10 per cent for EWS
category in NEET admissions for medical courses.
The
top court directed Additional Solicitor General K M Nataraj, appearing for
Centre to file a joint counter affidavit to the batch of petitions by October 6
and said it will be hearing the matter on October 7. On July 29, the Centre had
decided to provide 27 percent reservation for OBCs and 10 per cent reservation
for EWS in the all India Quota scheme for undergraduate and postgraduate
medical/dental courses (MBBS/MD/MS/ Diploma/BDS /MDS).
On
August 25, while disposing of the contempt plea of the Dravida Munnetra
Kazhagam (DMK) party moved against the Centre for non-compliance of earlier
order, the Madras High Court had approved the July 29 notification providing 27
per cent reservation to OBC candidates for admission in central medical
colleges under the AIQ.
The
high court, however, had said the inclusion of a further 10 per cent by way of
vertical reservation for EWS would require the approval of the Supreme Court
and to this extent, the reservation for the EWS, as indicated in the July 29
notification, has to be regarded as impermissible till such approval is
obtained.
However,
with regard to 10 per cent reservation for EWS, the high court had observed: “The
additional reservation provided for economically weaker sections in the
notification of July 29, 2021 cannot be permitted, except with the approval of
the Supreme Court in such regard.” Aggrieved by this, the Centre rushed to the
top court on September 3 against the high court's observation.
The
high court had approved the notification of the Centre providing 27 per cent
reservation to OBC candidates for admission in central medical colleges under
the AIQ. However, it had rejected a plea for more reservation for Tamil Nadu
and had said the reservation of AIQ seats for admission to the undergraduate,
postgraduate and diploma medical and dental courses across the states must be
uniform. Logically, if the seats are given to candidates across the country,
there cannot be reservation to one extent in one state and to another extent in
a different one, the Madras High Court had said.
“To
the extent that 27 per cent of the seats available for admission in Central
educational institutions is reserved for OBC candidates other than the creamy
layer, and such figure having been arrived at upon empirical studies being
conducted, the provision of 27 per cent reservation for OBC candidates in
addition to the approved reservation for scheduled caste and scheduled tribe
candidates as indicated in the notification of July 29, 2021 may be permissible
subject to the formal approval of the Supreme Court,” it had said.
The
DMK had contended that the OBC candidates in the state must be made eligible
for 50 per cent reservation as envisaged under the Tamil Nadu Backward Classes,
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of Seats in Educational
Institutions and of Appointments or Posts in the Services under the State) Act,
1993.
The
high court had then closed the contempt petition from the ruling DMK seeking to
punish the central government officials concerned for not implementing an order
of the High Court issued in July 2020. It had added that the in-principle
approval of the Supreme Court for providing reservation for OBC candidates
under AIQ for medical admission in the state is apparent from its order dated
October 26, 2020.
To
such extent, the provision made for 27 per cent reservation in such regard
appears to be permissible, since the apex court approved the implementation of
reservation for OBC candidates beginning from the academic year 2021-22 by the
same order.
On
the issue of 10 per cent quota for EWS category students, the high court had
said that the reservation cannot exceed more than 50 per cent as the Supreme
Court judgement in the Indra Sawhney case had stated that the quota cannot
exceed the cap unless there are exceptional circumstances.
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