New
Delhi:
In a significant development, the Supreme Court Friday stayed the proceedings
before the Kerala High Court on a plea challenging the Centre's decision to
grant 10 per cent reservation in jobs and admissions to candidates of the
economically weaker sections (EWS). A bench comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana
and Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli also issued notice on the plea filed by
the Centre seeking transfer of the case from the high court to the apex court
which had earlier referred to the similar case for adjudication to a five-judge
Constitution bench.
Solicitor
General Tushar Mehta appeared for the Centre and sought stay on the proceedings
before the high court besides a notice to Nujaim PK who had filed the PIL
there.
The
plea said: “The present transfer petition is being filed...under Article '139A
(1) of the Constitution, seeking the transfer of Civil Writ Petition No.-23872
of 2020 titled as Nujaim P.K. Vs. Union of India 85. Ors, pending before the
High Court of Kerala at Ernakulam, to this Court... “Writ Petition involves an
identical question of law to one pending before this Court, whether the
Constitution (One Hundred and Third Amendment) Act, 2019 violates the basic
structure of the Constitution of India and is against the basic principle of
the constitution”.
The
transfer of the aforesaid writ petition would enable all these cases to be
clubbed and heard together and avoid possibility of inconsistent orders being
passed by different courts, it said.
The
transfer of petition is necessary because a similar plea and other connected
petitions regarding the validity of the Act are pending before this court, it
added.
The
top court had earlier referred to 5-judge Constitution a batch of pleas and
transfer petitions challenging the Centre's decision to grant 10 per cent
reservation in jobs and education to economically weaker sections and the Act.
The court had refused to stay the Centre's decision.
Lok
Sabha and Rajya Sabha cleared the bill on January 8 and 9, 2019 respectively,
and was signed by President Ram Nath Kovind. The quota will be over and above
the existing 50 per cent reservation to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and
Other Backward Classes.
Recently,
the Madras High Court made a crucial observation that the Centre's notification
on grant of 10 per cent quota to the EWS in all-India quota (AIQ) seats of
medical colleges would require approval of the top court.
The
Centre's plea against this observation is scheduled for hearing during the day
in the top court.
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