Gujarat govt challenges HC decision on 10% EWS quota in SC, hearing likely on August 16

New Delhi/Gandhinagar: The Gujarat Government today moved to the Supreme Court against the August 4 decision of the Gujarat High Court quashing of its May 1 ordinance providing for 10% special reservation to the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) of unreserved category.

The High Court had given two weeks time for filing the appeal.

Gujarat Government’s appeal in the apex court is likely to come up for the hearing on August 16.

The state government had said that it would file an appeal against the judgement in the apex court at the earliest. It had taken a plea that the quota was a redefining of non-reserved category. It has also pleaded that no caste based survey for the purpose was needed as it was based purely on economic ground.

The division bench of chief justice R Subash Reddy and justice V M Pancholi of the High court had annulled the around 3 month old ordinance and other related notifications providing 10 per cent reservation to members of the economically weaker sections from unreserved category in the state terming it ‘unconstitutional’ and contrary to the apex court order prohibiting the maximum reservation quota limit to 50%.

On May 1, the state government had issued the ordinance providing 10 per cent reservation to persons from EWS from unreserved category other than the SC, ST and other reserved category for admissions in the educational institutions and government jobs. It had put the upper limit of annual family income for the benefit to Rs 6 lakh.

DeshGujarat