Rediff
New Delhi, Apr 10: The Supreme Court on Thursday gave its nod to the law seeking to provide 27 per cent reservation to Other Backward Classes in central educational institutions, including IIMs and IITs.
In a unanimous verdict, a five-judge Constitution Bench on Thursday upheld the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006.
The Act does not violate the basic structure of the Constitution, the SC said, and favoured the exclusion of creamy layer among the OBCs from the benefit of quota.
On quota in private un-aided institutions, four judges have left the issue open, while one judge held that it would be violative of the basic structure of the Constitution.
With this judgment, the apex court's interim order of March 29, 2007 staying the implementation of the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006 is lifted.
The court has said the 93rd Constitutional Amendment Act, which was the basis of the law providing 27 per cent reservation in aided institutions, is not violative of the basic structure of the Constitution.
All the judges favoured periodic revision on the implementation of the 27 per cent quota for OBCs.
The court also held that the delegation of power to the Centre to determine OBCs is valid.
The court said that the parameter applied for identifying the creamy layer among the OBCs for jobs as per the office memorandum of September 8, 1993, will be applicable for identifying the socially and educationally backward classes.
On November 1 last, a five-judge bench headed by the Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan had reserved its verdict after a hearing that lasted 25 days on a bunch of petitions challenging the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006.
The apex court in its March 29, 2007, interim order stayed the implementation of the Act holding that data based on 1931 census cannot be the determinative factor for the affirmative action.
The anti-quota activists opposed the government's move vehemently, saying caste was the starting point of identifying backward classes.
The inclusion of 'creamy layer' in the reservation policy was also questioned by those opposing the law.