Govt has no data, quota stayed: SC

STOP FOR NOW: Quota won't be implemented till there is data on who constitute OBCs, says SC.

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New Delhi: In what could be big a blow to the Government's pro-reservation stance, the Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the 27 per cent reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in elite educational institutions like IIMs and IITs.

The Court ruled that the 1931 census could not be a determinative factor for identifying the OBCs for the purpose of providing reservation.

The ruling could once again set the stage for another clash between legislature and judiciary, as this is being seen as a setback to the Government.

The Bench comprising Justices Arijit Pasayat and L S Panta ruled on the batch of petitions filed by various organisations and individuals challenging the decision as being ultra vires (unconstitutional).

Various organisations had challenged the Centre's decision to implement the quota, claiming that there was no relevant data on the number of OBCs in the country.

The Bench said, "We are of the view that the impugned notification and enforcing the reservation for OBCs in the educational institutions must be put on hold as the Government has failed to provide any authentic or reliable data to justify its policy of reservation.”

SC held that Section 6 of the Constitution was not applicable since no data on who constitutes OBCs in India has been collected in the last 76 years.

"The Centre has to determine who are the socially and economically backward people of India, before the Central Educational Institutions Act can be given effect," the Bench stated.

However, the Bench clarified that the benefit of reservation for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes could not be withheld. It said that the Centre could go ahead with the OBC identification process to determine the backward classes.

This means that if the Government can provide the court with authentic data on who constitute the OBCs in India, then reservation may be implemented in favour of people who genuinely need it.

"Reservation cannot be permanent and appear to perpetuate backwardness," the Bench observed.

While saying this, however, the Apex Court reprimanded the Centre, saying that the Centre should stay away from dividing the society on caste basis and should behave in a more responsible way.

It added the Government's decision to implement the quota system was full of flaws.

Lawyer for United Student’s Forum, M L Lahoty told CNN-IBN, “SC has stayed the order on the Act saying to the Centre, ‘Don’t divide the country only because of your vote bank’ and that 'the consequences of this quota would be very bad'."