Court admits petitions against quota for economic backwardness

Kerala's decision to reserve seats for forward community students challenged

The Supreme Court on Monday admitted Special Leave Petitions challenging a Kerala High Court judgment that upheld a Government Order, which reserved 10 per cent of the seats in government colleges and 7.5 per cent in universities for students of the forward communities under the below poverty line (BPL) category.

A Bench of Justices D.K. Jain and A.K. Ganguly admitted the petitions after hearing senior counsel P.S. Patwalia for the Kerala Muslim Jamaath Council; senior counsel K.K. Venugopal for the Nair Service Society, which has got itself impleaded in the case; counsel E.M.S. Anam for the Christian Service Society, which is another petitioner; and counsel Ramesh Babu for the State.

Mr. Patwalia argued that the judgment went against Supreme Court judgments that clearly stated reservation could not be based on the economic criterion. Some interim relief was required, he said.

Justice Jain told counsel, “It is a very ticklish and controversial issue,” and no party had so far filed a reply. When Mr. Babu said the previous government, led by V.S. Achuthanandan, had supported the quota in the High Court, Justice Jain said: “Maybe. Now, there is [a] change of government. If you want, you can file your reply. Others also can file replies.”

Admitting the petitions, the Bench directed that the matter be expedited and granted liberty to mention for early listing.

In its appeal, the Jamaath Council said there was no provision in the Constitution conferring on the State the power or authority to reserve seats in educational institutions solely on the basis of the economic condition of students.

It argued that reservation was permitted only for the advancement of socially and educationally backward classes and for the Scheduled Castes/Tribes, and any section of the forward community was disqualified constitutionally from any special provision.

It said the BPL families constituted 12.72 per cent of Kerala's population against the national average of 26.10 per cent.

If the State government's intention was the genuine educational advancement of the poor, it ought to have given free education to all students of the BPL families (irrespective of caste or community) in government colleges as well as private aided and unaided institutions.