SC notice to Govt on petition challenging OBC reservation

New Delhi, Feb 12: The Supreme Court today issued notice to the Union Government on a petition challenging its notification providing 27.5 per cent reservation to OBCs in educational institutions from the coming academic session 2007-2008.

A bench comprising Justices K G Balakrishnan and D K Jain, however, declined to tag the writ petition filed by the All India Equality Forum with similar petitions already pending in the court.

The petitioner forum has contended the caste based reservation policy being pursued by the Central Government is dividing the Indian society along caste lines and such a policy is also detrimental to the concept of efficient administration. Reservation should be provided to weaker sections of the society irrespective of their caste and religion. The petitioner has also contended the new reservation has been prepared without adequate data regarding educational, social and economic backwardness of the beneficiaries and was in fact aimed at votebank politics.

A batch of petitions challenging the reservation policy of the Government is already pending before another bench headed by Mr Justice Arijit Psayat and are coming up for hearing on the 19th of this month.

The announcement of 27.5 per cent reservation for OBCs by Union HRD Minister Arjun Singh last year led to nationwide agitation by medicos subsequently leading to the health services getting paralysed throughout the country.

The Supreme Court had to step in to force the students to call off their agitation and restore health services in the country with the assurance to the striking students that they will not be penalised for participating in the strike and the agitation against the reservation policy of the government.

UNI