The Supreme Court on Monday extended for a few more days the Gujarat High Court’s interim stay on its own judgment quashing an ordinance for 10 per cent reservation in education and government employment to the poor among the upper castes in the State.
A Bench, led by Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur, said the High Court’s August 4 order — staying the judgment till August 17 to give the State time to file an appeal in the Supreme Court — would continue to be in operation till August 29, when the court would hear the appeal.
Rohatgi’s assurance
Meanwhile, the Bench got an assurance from Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Gujarat, that there would be no admissions under the quota till further directions.
The State had appealed against the judgment quashing the Gujarat Unreserved Economically Weaker Sections (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions in the State and of Appointments and Posts in Services under the State) Ordinance, 2016, meant to quell the Patidar agitation.
The State contended that the judgment delivered by a Division Bench led by Chief Justice R. Subhash Reddy did not consider that the quota was based on a “reasonable classification” and not reservation per se. It argued that though the term ‘reservation’ was used in the ordinance, the leeway allowed to the poor among the upper castes should be included as a classification within the 50 per cent ceiling on quotas.
