EWS Quota Verdict Live: SC upholds 10% EWS reservation in jobs, education

While 3 judges backed the EWS quota, Justice S Ravindra Bhat decided to dissent, saying the law is discriminatory and violates the basic structure of the Constitution. Chief Justice of India UU Lalit concurred with Justice Bhat.

Read: Supreme Court upholds EWS quota: ‘Doesn't violate basic structure of constitution’

Justice Trivedi: EWS quota law isn't discriminatory, can't be said to be shocking. It doesn't violate basic structure or equality code..treating EWS as separate class would be a reasonable classification. Just as equals as unequals, unequals cannot be treated equally.

Justice Maheshwari: EWS quota law doesn't violate basic structure or equality code for taking into account economic criterion. It doesn't also cause damage to any essential feature by exceeding 50% ceiling for quota since the ceiling is itself flexible.

(Inputs from Utkarsh Anand)

Supreme Court upholds 10% EWS reservation in education and jobs. 

(Inputs from Utkarsh Anand)

The five-judge bench has assembled to deliver judgement on the matter of EWS reservation in India.

Tamil Nadu had opposed the EWS quota, saying the economic criteria cannot be the basis for classification and the top court will have to revisit the Indira Sawhney (Mandal) judgement if it decides to uphold this reservation. The SC during Indra Sawhney case had ruled that reservation should not exceed 50%, barring certain extraordinary situations.

On the other hand, the then attorney general and the solicitor general had defended the 103rd amendment, saying the reservation provided under it was different and had been given without disturbing the 50 per cent quota meant for the socially and economically backward classes (SEBC).

(Inputs from PTI)

The Supreme Court had framed three broad issues for judgement on the issue of EWS reservation: 

1. Whether the 103rd Constitution amendment Act for implementing EWS quota breaches the basic structure of the Constitution by permitting the State to make special provisions, including reservation, based on economic criteria.
2. Whether the amendment breaches the basic structure by permitting the state to make special provisions concerning admissions to private unaided institutions.
3. Whether it breaches the basic structure of the Constitution by excluding the SEBCs/OBCs, SCs/STs from EWS reservation.

The Supreme Court heard as many as 40 petitions and most of those, including the lead one filed by 'Janhit Abhiyan' in 2019, challenged the validity of the Constitution Amendment (103rd) Act 2019. (PTI).

The petitioners have also questioned the validity of EWS quota saying it breaches the 50% cap for reservation in India. During the 1992 hearing of Indra Sawhney (famously known as Mandal Commission) case, the Supreme Court had ruled that “reservation should not exceed 50%, barring certain extraordinary situations".

(Inputs from Utkarsh Anand)

The SC bench is set to rule on a bunch of legal issues surrounding the validity of the 103rd Constitution amendment. Through the 103rd amendment, Articles 15(6) and 16(6) were introduced in the Constitution of India, providing 10% reservation in jobs and admissions to persons other than SC, ST and OBC whose annual family income is below ₹8 lakh.

The legal issues include whether the amendment breaches the basic structure of the Constitution by permitting the State to make special provisions like reservation based on economic criteria or special provisions in relation to admission to private unaided institutions.

(Inputs from Utkarsh Anand)

The five judge bench of Chief Justice UU Lalit and justices Dinesh Maheshwari, S Ravindra Bhat, Bela M Trivedi, and J B Pardiwala, on September 27 reserved the verdict after a marathon hearing. 

A Chief Justice of India led Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court will deliver today its judgement on the validity of the 103rd Constitution amendment providing 10% reservation in jobs and admissions to the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS).