EWS Quota : Supreme Court Verdict Determining Validity Of Constitution 103rd Amendment Likely To Come Next Week

The Supreme Court verdict determining the validity of the 103rd Constitutional Amendment which introduced 10% reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in education and public employment is likely to come out next week.

The matter was heard by a 5-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of India UU Lalit, Justices Dinesh Maheshwari, S Ravindra Bhat, Bela M Trivedi and JB Pardiwala who held hearing for seven days. It is to be noted that Chief Justice UU Lalit is to retire on 8th November 2022. 

The petitions challenged the validity of Constitution (103rd) Amendment Act 2019. Economic reservation in jobs and education was proposed to be provided by inserting clause (6) in Articles 15 and 16 of the Constitution through the amendment passed by the Parliament in January 2019. The newly inserted Article 15(6) enabled the State to make special provisions for advancement of any economically weaker section of citizens, including reservations in educational institutions. It states that such reservation can be made in any educational institution, including private institutions, whether aided or unaided, except minority educational institutions covered under Article 30(1). It further states that the upper limit of the reservation will be ten percent, which will be in addition to the existing reservations. After the amendment was notified by the President, a batch of petitions were filed in the Supreme Court challenging the constitutional validity of economic reservation.

It was on August 5, 2020 that a 3-judge bench comprising the then CJI SA Bobde, Justice R Subhash Reddy and Justice BR Gavai referred the matters to the Constitution Bench. Some of the referred issues included whether the ceiling limit of 50% for reservation can be breached in special circumstances and whether affirmative action can be provided on the sole criteria of economic status.

CASE TITLE: Janhit Abhiyan v. Union Of India with 32 connected matters | W.P.(C)NO.55/2019 and connected issues

Reports of the hearings :

EWS Quota - 103rd Amendment Negates Concept Of Reservation As Tool Of Representation, Violates Equality : Dr.Mohan Gopal To Supreme Court [Day 1]

EWS Quota : Reservation Is Not For Poverty Alleviation, But To Correct Historic Injustices - Lawyers Argue In Supreme Court [Day 1]

EWS Quota Arbitrary As It Excludes Poor On The Ground Of Caste; Only Benefits The Privileged : Ravi Verma Kumar To Supreme Court [Day 2].

EWS Quota Case - Economic Condition Can't Be Sole Basis To Provide Reservation : Lawyers Argue In Supreme Court [Day 2]

EWS Quota Case: 103rd Amendment Changes Constitution's Identity - Lawyers Argue In Supreme Court [Day 3]

EWS Quota Unconstitutional For Including Only The Poor Among Forward Class: Shadan Farast To Supreme Court [Day 3]

SC/STs Loaded With Benefits, EWS Quota Does Not Erode Their Rights : Attorney General To Supreme Court [Day 4]

EWS Quota Violates Basic Structure Of Constitution For Crossing 50% Ceiling Limit : Gopal Sankaranarayanan To Supreme Court [Day 4]

"Only 1/6th Of BPL Section Belongs To General Category" : Supreme Court Remarks During EWS Quota Case Hearing [Day 5]

Is EWS Quota Not Reducing Share For Those Competing On Merit?Is It Not Caste-Based Exclusion From General Category? Supreme Court Asks [Day 5]

Economic Backwardness Can Be Temporary, Other Forms Of Backwardness Attached To Lineage : Supreme Court Says During EWS Case Hearing [Day 6]

EWS Quota Case - No Anthropological Study To Show Families Suffer From Poverty For Generations If They're Not Backward : Supreme During Hearing [Day 6]

EWS Quota : Supreme Court Constitution Bench Reserves Judgment On Pleas Challenging 103rd Constitutional Amendment