The decision to grant a 10% EWS quota in admissions will not impact the availability of seats for the general and reserved categories, says the Centre to Supreme Court.
While defending the 103rd constitution amendment, the Centre told Supreme Court on Tuesday that the decision to grant a 10% Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) quota in admissions will not impact the availability of seats for the general and reserved categories as 2,13,766 additional seats will be added to those already existing in higher educational institutions.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta on behalf of the Central government has informed the court that the government has provided INR 4,315 crore to central higher educational institutions to create additional infrastructure to meet the demand for raising the seats, as reported by NDTV.
A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice U U Lalit, which reserved its verdict on pleas challenging the 10% reservation for the EWS in admissions and government jobs heard the case.
More Details of Court Hearing on EWS Quota
Most of the lawyers opposed to the EWS quota contended the amended law excluded the poor belonging to the Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs), and defeated the creamy layer concept.
The top court heard as many as 40 petitions and most of the pleas, including the lead one filed by 'Janhit Abhiyan' in 2019, challenged the validity of the Constitution Amendment (103rd) Act 2019.
The Central government had filed some petitions seeking transfer of pending cases, challenging the EWS quota law, from various High Courts to the Supreme Court for an authoritative pronouncement. The bench on September 8 framed three broad issues for adjudication arising from the pleas challenging the Centre's decision to grant 10% reservation to EWS in admissions and government jobs.
Three major issues of EWS case
"Whether the 103rd Constitution amendment Act can be said to breach the basic structure of the Constitution by permitting the State to make special provisions, including reservation, based on economic criteria," read the first issue framed.
The second legal question was whether the constitutional amendment could be said to breach the basic structure by permitting the state to make special provisions concerning admissions to private unaided institutions.
"Whether the 103rd Constitution amendment can be said to breach the basic structure of the Constitution in excluding the SEBCs/OBCs, SCs/STs from the scope of EWS reservation," the third issue, to be adjudicated upon by the bench, read.
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