INDIA BUSINESS WORLD – FEBRUARY 2007
The Month that was ...

NOTICE TO CENTER ON EDUCATION QUOTA ACT

The Supreme Court sought an explanation from the centre as to why its Central Education Institution (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006, which provides for reservation to SCs, STs and Other Backward Classes, should not be declared as unconstitutional and illegal.

A bench comprising chief justice K G Balakrishnan and Justice D K Jain issued notice to the centre on a petition moved by the All-India Equality Forum. The petition said that the provisions of the act promote discrimination as it does not exclude persons belonging to the creamy layer of OBCs.

Communities who are already adequately represented should not be allowed to take the benefit of reservation, since that would amount to unreasonable discrimination without justice, and would be violative of Article 14 of the constitution, said the petition. "The qualitative nature of benefits for OBCs should be in accord with the level of backwardness and the same cannot be akin to the benefits and privileges given to SCs and STs. The OBCs have always competed as part of the general category and there is no justification for reserving certain seats in central educational institutions for them separately."