The Supreme Court has stayed the Kerala High Court proceedings on a plea challenging the Union government's decision to grant 10% reservation in jobs and admissions to candidates of the economically weaker sections (EWS).
Chief Justice NV Ramana and Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli issued a notice on the plea filed by the Union government seeking transfer of the case. The Centre was seeking to transfer the case from Kerala High Court to Supreme Court.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Union government, sought a stay on the proceedings before the high court and notice to Nujaim PK, secretary of a student organisation, Fraternity Movement who had filed the PIL.
The plea said: "The present transfer petition is being filed...under Article '139A (1) of the Constitution, seeking the transfer of Civil Writ Petition No.-23872 of 2020 titled as Nujaim P.K. Vs. Union of India 85. Ors, pending before the High Court of Kerala at Ernakulam, to this Court.
"Writ Petition involves an identical question of law to one pending before this Court, whether the Constitution (One Hundred and Third Amendment) Act, 2019 violates the basic structure of the Constitution of India and is against the basic principle of the constitution." the plea added.
The transfer of the aforesaid writ petition would enable all these cases to be clubbed and heard together and avoid the possibility of inconsistent orders being passed by different courts, the plea added.
The transfer of petition is necessary because a similar plea and other connected petitions regarding the validity of the Act are pending before this court, it further added.
The top court had earlier referred to the 5-judge Constitution a batch of pleas and transfer petitions challenging the Union government's decision to grant 10 per cent reservation in jobs and education to economically weaker sections and the Act. The court had refused to stay the Union government's decision.
The court had refused to stay the Union government's decision to grant 10% reservation in jobs and education to economically weaker sections and the Act. The quota will be over and above the existing 50% reservation to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes.
Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha cleared the bill on January 8 and 9, 2019 respectively, and was signed by President Ram Nath Kovind.
The quota will be over and above the existing 50 per cent reservation to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes.
On Friday, a separate bench of the top court later had set asided the Madras High Court direction that the Centre must seek the top court's approval before implementing a ten per cent reservation for the economically weaker sections (EWS) in all-India quota (AIQ) seats of medical colleges.
The top court clarified that it is not quashing the high court order passed on August 25 or stating any opinion on its merit. The bench added that it is merely setting aside the observations made in regard to the EWS quota.