New Delhi : Supreme Court upheld 10% quota for Economically Weaker Section in a major verdict on Monday. Five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court upheld the validity of the Constitution’s 103rd Amendment Act 2019, which provides for the 10 per cent EWS reservation amongst the general category. Three out of five judges delivered verdicts in favour of the EWS quota, saying it did not violate the law.
Justice Dinesh Maheshwari, Justice Bela M Trivedi, and Justice JB Pardiwala ruled in favour of the quota, stating that the law on reservation for EWS does not violate the basic structure of the Constitution. Meanwhile, Justice S Ravindra Bhat dissented and Chief Justice of India UU Lalit concurred with him.
Earlier on September 27 the apex court concluded hearing the batch of pleas challenging the validity of the 103rd Constitutional Amendment that grants 10 percent reservation to Economically Weaker Section (EWS) among the forward castes.
The petitions, filed by NGO Janhit Abhiyan among others had challenged the amendment on the ground that economic classification cannot be the sole basis for reservation.
The Amendment Act provides for reservation of 10 percent seats in public and private educational institutions, and in public employment, for the “economically weaker sections” of citizens other than Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and socially and educationally backward classes.