Gujarat moves SC against quota verdict

Gujarat High Court had held that reservation cannot be given on the basis of economic criteria

Within days of being sworn in, the Vijay Rupani government in Gujarat appealed to the Supreme Court on Tuesday against the High Court judgment quashing an ordinance promulgated for providing 10 per cent reservation to the poor among upper castes.

The government said the High Court judgment did not consider that the 10 per cent quota was based on a “reasonable classification” and not reservation per se.

The High Court had declared the ordinance, meant to quell the powerful Patidar agitation for quota, “unconstitutional”. The government said though the term “reservation” was used, the leeway allowed to the poor among the upper castes should be included as a classification within the 50 per cent ceiling on quotas.