Supreme Court rejects Centres plea to vacate stay on OBC quota

The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined the Centres plea to vacate the stay on the implementation of reservation for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the central educational institutions.

New Delhi, Aug 8 : The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined the Centre's plea to vacate the stay on the implementation of reservation for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the central educational institutions.

A five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan refused to pass any interim order.

The Bench said it will hear the main petition to examine the Constitutional validity of the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act 2006 that provides for 27 per cent reservations for OBCs in elite institutions.

"We are not going to pass any interim order," the Bench said.

On Tuesday, while arguing its case in favour of the quota policy, the Centre told the Supreme Court that it was willing to keep the "creamy layer" out of the 27 per cent quota for OBCs in elite-educational institutions if only to speed up the law's implementation.

"If the court feels that the creamy layer be excluded and says so, we will obey. But for the purpose of an interim arrangement, let us go ahead, at least," Solicitor General G E Vahanvati told the Bench, also comprising of Justices Arijit Pasayat, C K Thakker, R V Raveendran and Dalveer Bhandari.

Vahanvati's submission came during the hearing of the Centre's plea seeking vacation of the March 29 interim order staying the implementation of quota.

Through its March 29 interim order, the apex court directed the government to put on hold the implementation of OBC quota in the academic session 2007-08.

The government wants to increase the number of seats in colleges for lower caste students to 49.5 percent from 22.5 percent, a move strongly opposed by mainly upper caste students.

ANI