INDIA BUSINESS WORLD - JULY - AUGUST - 2007
The Month that was ...

SUPREME COURT DISMISSES ORISSA'S PLEA TO INCREASE JOB QUOTA

THE Supreme Court has dismissed the petition filed by the Orissa government seeking to set aside the judgement of the Orissa High Court restraining it from enhancing the reservation ceiling from 50% to 66.75% in government posts. The state government had filed an appeal against the verdict of the Orissa High Court upholding the decision of the State Administrative Tribunal, Cuttack, that reservations cannot exceed 50% of the total posts in view of the ratio laid down by the apex court in the Indra Sawhney case.

A Bench comprising Justice A K Mathur and Justice Dalveer Bhandari did not agree with the contention of the state government that it was competent to provide quota beyond 50% in an extraordinary situation. Advocate Shibashish Misra, appearing for the state government, said if the High Court judgement is not interfered with, the beneficiaries of reservation, who were selected for the Orissa Administrative Services, will be adversely affected.

Further, the government had come out with a resolution in 1994 enhancing the ceiling of reservation for socially and educationally backward classes in the state from 11.25% to 27%, argued advocate Misra. The government's resolution was being implemented since 1997, which was then struck down by the High Court in April this year.

It was contended that the benefits of the resolution would go to the people in remote areas of Koraput, Keonjhar, Kalahandi, etc., as most of the people in these areas were out of the mainstream of national life. The tribunal and High Court were unanimous that by no stretch of imagination could Orissa be treated as a far-flung and remote area, nor were the people of the state out of the mainstream of national life.