The Supreme Court Monday, while hearing a clutch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the 103rd amendment to the Constitution, said that reservation on economic basis does not violate the essential features of the Constitution of India.
While Justices Dinesh Maheshwari, Bela M Trivedi and JB Pardiwala ruled in favour of the quota, Chief Justice UU Lalit and Justice S Ravindra Bhat dissented.
The amendment had introduced a 10 per cent reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in admissions to educational institutions and government jobs.
A five- judge bench of the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice UU Lalit, pronounced the judgment. Reading out the order, Justice Dinesh Maheshwari said: “EWS reservation does not violate the equality code or violate essential feature of constitution and breach of 50 percent does not violate basic structure as the ceiling limit is here only for 16(4) and (5).”
He added: “Reservation on economic basis does not violate the basic structure or Constitution of India.”
