EWS Reservation- Supreme Court Constitution Bench Hearing DAY 2- LIVE UPDATES

Kumar: It'll go on increasing year after year. Possibly there will be more number of posts than applicants. No one was given a quota like this on a platter. My first ground of attack is giving a quota of 10% of a small population of a privileged class- what's the foundation?

Kumar: Women were not given 50% but 5% are given 10% reservation

CJI: It was always commensurate with the population

Kumar: Only 15% of population will be beneficiaries under EWS. About 30% of this who are not covered will be economically weak. 5% of the population of the country..

CJI: Will be the target population.

Kumar: Yes, we don't have data on whether they're backward, represented.

Kumar: [provides details on latest census] The backward classes under 16(4) will be about 85%. Without any survey, constitution says all those who aren't backward are EWS.

CJI: It doesn't say that.

Kumar: No no, it says if you're under 16(4), you're out, if not, you're here.

CJI: It went to such an extent that when a child born in a family an FIR would be filed so record was maintained.

Where do we lead now? We're waiting for that. You've laid the background very well, we're waiting for your submissions.

Kumar: The list also includes touchables. Because in 1873, an act was passed called Criminal Tribes act, listing tribes as criminals, who Britishers could not manage so they couldn't move from their settlements.

Kumar: Though SCs and STs enjoy same condition across the country, their position changes. For eg. Banjaras in Karnataka are SCs but in Maharashtra they're not.

[Gives more such examples]

So there is a wide difference in status.

Kumar: In order to remove this anomaly, a bill was introduced in 1976 which came into force in 1977. It's called the SC-ST Area Removal Act,1976.

Kumar: A new bill was introduced. Instead of deleting any caste or community, it removed all area restrictions. It was necessitated because there had been no change of list after reorganization of states.

Kumar gives an example of communities in Karnataka which are considered backward in State but not in Center.