DMK moves Supreme Court; seeks review of verdict upholding EWS quota law

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 5

Tamil Nadu’s ruling DMK has filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking review of the court's verdict upholding the constitutional validity of 10 per cent quota for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in government jobs and educational institutions.

By 3:2 majority, a five-judge Constitution Bench led by the then CJI UU Lalit had on November 7 declared that the 103rd constitutional amendment providing for the EWS quota was valid and it didn’t violate basic structure of the Constitution.

The use of basic structure doctrine as a “sword” to “stultify” the State’s effort to do economic justice can’t be countenanced, it had said.

There were four separate judgments. Justice Dinesh Maheshwari, Justice Bela M Trivedi and Justice JB Pardiwala – who delivered separate verdicts -- upheld the validity of EWS quota law, while Justice S Ravindra Bhat delivered a dissenting verdict. Justice Lalit had agreed with Justice Bhat.

However, the DMK contended that the top court never examined how “forward castes” benefitted under the impugned constitutional amendment could be called as “weaker sections” merely because they were economically not sound.

It did not consider or even refer to the law laid down by its larger bench in the Indra Sawhney case, DMK said and demanded an open court hearing saying it affected 133 crore Indians.

"In fact some portions of the impugned majority opinions overrules/ rewrites the judgement in Indra Sawhney as well disregards the Judgement in NM Thomas case, and coequal bench judgment rendered in Nagaraj , Asoka Kumar Thakur cases," the DMK submitted.

The word “economically” cannot be read in isolation without the word “weaker sections” to exclude reservations for SCs/STs/OBCs who were constitutionally recognised weaker sections, the party contended.

Last month, Madhya Pradesh Congress leader Jaya Thakur had moved the Supreme Court seeking review of its verdict upholding the 103rd Constitutional Amendment which granted 10 percent reservation to EWS among the forward castes.

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