SC to give verdict on the use of Ninth Schedule tomorrow

New Delhi, Jan 10 (UNI) The Supreme Court will pronounce its verdict tomorrow on the use of the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution by the government and the legislature to avoid judicial scrutiny.

A nine-judge contitution bench headed by Chief Justice Y K Sabharwal is also going to lay down parameters for the use of the Ninth Schedule.

The main issue involved in the case is whether a law struck down by the court as unconstitutional can be revalidated by the government by putting the same in the Ninth Schedule through the backdoor.

Earlier, a five-judge bench headed by the then Chief Justice S P Barucha had referred the petition challenging the land sealing laws and reservation policies of various state governments.

The apex court had reserved the judgement in November last year, after hearing marathon arguments from both sides.

According to Article 31 (A) of the Constitution of India, the courts have no jurisdiction to examine a law which has been put in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution and according to the petitioner, the government has been misusing the provision by putting any law in the Ninth Schedule in order to overcome their problem of judicial scrutiny by the courts with respect to validity of the law concerned.

The other important issue involved in the matter is whether Part 3 of the Constitution which contained the Fundamental Rights, forms a part of the basic structure of Constitution and whether violation of a Fundamental Right by the state through an enactment destroys the basic structure of the Constitution.

The state laws have used the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution to over-reach the law laid down by the country's apex court in Mandal Commission case holding that reservations will not exceed 50 per cent. However, the state of Tamil Nadu has made laws providing for 69 per cent reservation in higher education as well as in jobs.

The land reform laws enacted by state of Gujarat are also under challenge.

Interestingly, till 1973 all land reforms laws were under the Ninth Schedule and were never challenged in the court.

Meanwhile, tomorrow's verdict will lay down parameters within which the government can use the Ninth Schedule for debarring courts from examining the law.

Earlier, a 13-judge bench in Keshvananda Bharti's case had laid down that any law which destroys, damages or changes the basic structure of Constitution can be judicially examined even if the same has been placed in the Ninth Schedule.

UNI