EWS Reservation- Supreme Court Constitution Bench Hearing- LIVE UPDATES

Arora: Article 340 of the constitution, having a commission which determines...I will deal with an overview. There is a caveat Educationally and socially backward get benefit of reservation. (Refers to Jarnail Singh)

Class disadvantage owes its origin to structural inequality.

Arora: Backwardness becomes an integral part of any form of reservation. My colleague read Ambedkar's debate. It was designed that exception will not eat the rule itself. 

Arora: Equality code has non derogable sets. Special provisions have been made for backward classes for employment subject to administrative efficiency. 

Arora: The third limb is that it's based on EWS and that is also a part of backwardness under 15 and 16 but excludes those who may be much poorer or weaker but simply because they're a part of certain section.

Arora: Then I'll talk about class and Indira Sawhney judgment.

Sr. Adv. Meenakshi Arora (for petitioners): Given that we have a limitation on time, I will not be reading too many judgments - just three judgments, and one three-page submissions which we can give later or right away.

 Arora: My submission is based on certain structure- part 1, equality code and how the code determined reservation, what is equality. Coming down as concept of equality as basic structure, that is my second limb.

The bench takes a short break.

Gopal: We will welcome any reservation which genuinely helps economically backward classes. We're not here to say that any forward class who is genuinely poor should be not given reservation.

Gopal concludes by quoting from Prathviraj judgement.

Gopal: The caste is a system of human classification. While it's justified using religion, it's political in nature.

Gopal Quotes Narayana Guru- "One god, one caste, one religion for mankind." When it became dominated by one caste, the caste of Narayana Guru, he withdrew from it. 

Gopal: 103 provides reservation to those who traditionally are the source of injustice for backward classes.

This is ultra vires the constitution.

Gopal relies on the Indira Sawhney judgement to say that the amendment is ultra vires. 

Gopal: Another misrepresentation is the relationship between article 46 and 103rd amendment. They say that the amendment is taking forward the mandate of Art 46. This is a misrepresentation.

Gopal: SC & STs are excluded from EWS. How can you forget SCs and STs when you're implementing Art 46. Because this is meant only for SCFC- forward classes. This is only for those with financial incapacity. They're misusing EWS.

Gopal: One misrepresentation is that reservation under 15(4) and (5) is not available to socially and educationally backward people. That is given in Statement of Objects. It's not available if they're not backward. This is a blatant misrepresentation.