EBC quota: Gujarat Govt. moves SC against HC order

Ahmedabad, Aug 9 (ANI): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Gujarat Government on Tuesday moved the Supreme Court against the High Court order of quashing the ordinance providing the Economically Backward Classes in educational institutions. The Gujarat High Court had last week quashed the state government ordinance providing 10 per cent quota in educational institutions and government jobs to the economically weaker sections among the unreserved category. The division bench of Chief Justice R Subhash Reddy and Justice V M Pancholi, declared the ordinance "unconstitutional" and "illegal" and dismissed the main defence of the state government that the ordinance was merely a classification and not reservation per se. The judgment came on a set of petitions challenging the ordinance saying the ten percent provision is against the limit of 50 percent reservation. The petition filed by a group, including social activists, students and parents, had challenged the ordinance, claiming that it was contrary to the precedents established by the Supreme Court in 1990. However, the state defended the Gujarat Unreserved Economically Weaker Sections (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions in the State and of Appointments and Posts in Services under the State) Ordinance, 2016, stating that the provision of 10 percent quota was a classification of EWS and it should not be treated as reservation prescribed under the Constitution. The state ordinance was promulgated in May this year to pacify the agitating Patel community. (ANI)