SC asks Tamil Nadu, Karnataka to revisit laws providing more than 50% reservation
merisarkar news service
New Delhi, July 13, 2010
SC asks to reconsider the laws providing more than 50% reservation
In a very important observation, the apex court on Tuesday asked the Tamil Nadu and Karnataka governments to revisit the laws providing quota in excess of 50 per cent to reserved categories in government jobs and educational institutions.
Supreme Court, however, allowed the continuation of its interim orders for one more year concerning the two states by which it had made operational the 69 per cent quota in Tamil Nadu and restricting Karnataka from exceeding the 50 per cent ceiling as laid down in the Mandal Commission case.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice SH Kapadia and Justices KS Radhakrishnan and Swatanter Kumar pronounced separate orders by disposing of two batch of petitions and made it clear that it was not expressing any opinion on the validity of the laws.
The first batch of petitions had challenged the Tamil Nadu Act, 1993, which provided 69 per cent reservations, while the second batch of petitions had challenged the Karnataka Act, 1994, which provided 73 per cent reservations.
While dealing with the petitions on Tamil Nadu quota law, the Bench said government will place all quantifiable data available with it before the State Backward Class Commission which will revisit the issue of reservation.
Meanwhile, the Bench said the interim orders passed by it protecting 69 per cent quota in jobs and appointments will continue for a year.
In the case of Karnataka, which through an interim order, was restrained from exceeding the 50 per cent quota, the state was also asked to re-examine its law based on the fresh data if it wanted to provide reservations beyond the ceiling.
