SC upholds reservation for OBC in medical quota seats

SC upholds reservation for OBC in medical quota seats

Says High Scores In Examination Are Not A Proxy For MeritDhananjay.Mahapatra@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: Settling the perennial merit vs quota debate while upholding reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the intensely competitive all-India quota (AIQ) medical seats, the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that scores in entrance tests do not reflect the social, economic and cultural advantage that accrues to certain classes and contributes to their success in such examinations.

Rejecting the challenge to the constitutional validity of 27% OBC quota in the highly sought-after AIQ seats in MBBS and MD courses, a bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and A S Bopanna said, “Merit cannot be reduced to narrow definitions of performance in an open competitive examination which only provides formal equality of opportunity. ”

“High scores in an examination are not a proxy for merit. Merit should be socially contextualised and reconceptualised as an instrument that advances social goods like equality that we as a society value. In such a context, reservation is not at odds with merit but furthers its distributive consequences,” the bench said.

Writing the judgment, Justice Chandrachud said, “Competitive examinations assess basic current competency to allocate educational resources but are not reflective of excellence, capabilities and potential of an individual which are also shaped by lived experiences, subse-quent training and individual character. Crucially, open competitive examinations do not reflect the social, economic and cultural advantage that accrues to certain classes and contributes to their success in such examinations. ”

The bench said the 10% EWS quota for undergradu- ate and post-graduate medical courses would also continue for the 2021-22 academic year, as judicial propriety would not permit the SC to pass an interim order staying the criteria for determination of the EWS (Economically Weaker Sections) category.

“It is a settled principle of law that in matters involving challenge to the constitutionality of a legislation or a rule, the court must be wary to pass an interim order, unless the court is convinced that the rules are prima facie arbitrary,” the bench said while scheduling the exercise for detailed scrutiny of the constitutional validity of EWS quota to the third week of March.

It said, “At this stage, without hearing all the interested parties at length on arguments such as (i) extent of judicial review of materials relied on for providing reservation under Article 15; (ii) the power of the states to determine EWS in view of the explanation to Article 15 and in view of an alternative criteria proposed by the committee formed by the government of Kerala; and (iii) the meaning of EWS — the identification of the poor or the poorest, it would be impermissible for us to form a prima facie opinion on the alleged arbitrariness of the criteria. ”

Importantly, the SC clarified that the Centre was not required to seek its permission before providing reservation in AIQ seats. “Therefore, providing reservation in the AIQ seats is a policy decision of the government, which will be subject to the contours of judicial review similar to every reservation policy;. . . The Union of India in view of Article 15(5) and Article 15(6) of the Constitution has the power to provide reservation in AIQ seats since these seats have been surrendered to the Centre. ”

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Creamy layer: OBC groups petition govt to revise ₹8 lakh income ceiling

New Delhi: With the government telling the Supreme Court that it does not include “salary” while computing the family income of OBCs for the purpose of categorizing the ‘creamy layer’, OBC groups have now begun to petition the Centre to revise the much-delayed income ceiling from the present ₹8 lakh, arguing that the reason behind the delay appears junked by its stance in the apex court.

A prominent group, All India federation of OBC employees welfare associations, on Wednesday wrote to social justice minister Virendra Kumar that the revision of OBC income ceiling should be done immediately as it has already been delayed by around16 months. It has given the reference of the government’s stand in the Supreme Court in the EWS case to state that there is no cause for any further delay.

The income ceiling for OBCs is revised every three years, and the Union cabinet had last hiked it from ₹6 lakh to ₹8 lakh on August 23, 2017, and a notification was issued later. — Subodh Ghildiyal

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