Author: Our Political Bureau New Delhi
Publication: Economic Times
Dated: August 8, 2007
Introduction: Assures SC That An Increase
In Seats Will Offset Impact Of Quota Law On General Category
The Centre on Tuesday told the Supreme Court
that it was willing to keep the 'creamy layer' out of the 27% quota for OBCs
in elite educational institutions, a move aimed at getting the nod for its
early implementation.
"If the court feels that the creamy layer
be excluded and says so, the Centre will obey," Solicitor General GE
Vahanvati said before a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice
KG Balakrishnan. Mr Vahanvati's submission came during the hearing of the
Centre's application seeking the vacation of the March 29 interim order staying
the implementation of the quota.The anti-quota petitioners opposed the Centre's
application, contending that it was rushing through the implementation of
the law without addressing the issue of identifying OBCs and excluding the
creamy layer among them.
At the outset, the Bench questioned the points
raised by the Centre, asking what was new in its version for seeking a vacation
of the stay. "What is the changed circumstance? What is new you are arguing?"
asked the Bench, which also comprises justices Arijit Pasayat, CK Thakker,
RV Raveendran and Dalveer Bhandari.
The Centre had referred to the recent order
of the court on the Tamil Nadu quota ceiling, where the state government was
allowed to provide 69% reservation on the assurance that additional seats
would be created to take care of the general category. It had said this fact
was discovered after the March 29 order.
"That is an unusual ground. You are not
aware that the order was passed 14 years ago and it has been extended every
consecutive year," the Bench observed. The Bench also reminded the Solicitor
General that "whatever contentions the Centre has raised in the application
were argued earlier also".
Mr Vahanvati submitted that with an increase
in the intake of seats in the educational institutions, the general category
was not going to be affected and the quota of 27% could be staggered over
three years. Senior advocates Harish Salve, KK Venugopal, Rajeev Dhavan, PP
Rao, Mukul Rohatgi and ML Lahoty, appearing for the anti-quota petitioners,
had a common point that the Centre was rushing through the implementation
of the law without having data in place and without "excluding the creamy
layer among the OBCs".
"The government has not done its job,"
they said, adding that in the three months after the March 29 order, it has
failed to address these issues. It is time that the main petitions challenging
the validity of the controversial Central Educational Institutions (Reservation
in Admissions) Act, 2006 should be heard instead of going into the application
for vacating the stay, they added.
According to the petitioners, if the stay
is vacated, the Centre would implement the quota not only in central educational
institutions, but in institutions directly or indirectly aided by it. Mr Venugopal
questioned the legality of the entire Act, saying the law which was brought
in for the interest of the backward classes would only benefit a certain category.
