OBC case: Centre not likely to get immediate relief

New Delhi, Apr 22: The Centre is not likely to get any immediate relief from the Supreme Court, tomorrow when it takes up the application seeking permission to implement 27 per cent reservation to OBCs regarding their admission in centrally run educational institutions of higher studies from the academic session 2007-08.

The bench comprising Justices Arijit Pasayat and Lokeshwar Singh Panta has made it clear that the application for clarification filed by the government was in fact a review petition and the centre will have to satisfy the court first on its maintainability.

The government's stand before the court regarding the judgement dated March 29 which led to the staying of the operation of the impugned notification till further orders, was according to the government, an advice and not an order or a direction from the court However, the court is firm on its judgement on the same date that it was not an advice but an order as the court never advices. This peculiar stand has spoiled the chances of the government to get any immediate relief.

To top it all, the government is justifying the 1931 census as the basis for providing 27 per cent reservation to OBCs, which the court had already declared in authentic.

The plea of the government to refer the case to a constitution bench for hearing has also not impressed the apex court.

Another problem arises with the Opposition's demand for exclusion of the creamy layer among OBCs from the purview of the reservation on the ground that nine judge bench in Mandal Commission case judgement in 1992 had directed exclusion of creamy layer in case of jobs and not in relation to admissions.

The IIMs and IITs which had earlier declared that they would wait till April 21, have however, been told by the HRD ministry that they might have to wait till April 23 to know the fate of the centre's application.

Anti-reservationists in their petitions are seeking review of the Mandal Commission report, which on the basis of 1931 caste based census had concluded that OBCs constitute 52 per cent of the total population of the country.

Uttar Pardesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, who is facing a CBI inquiry in disproportionate assets case, had to file a review petition when the court found that his application for modification of the court's order was a review petition which is still pending before the apex court on the matter of admission.

But in the present case, the centre is challenging an interim order staying the operation of the impugned notification till the final disposal of the petitions challenging the validity of the notification issued in January this year, while in case of Mulayam Mr Singh Yadav it was against the final order.

The government decision on reservation led to countrywide agitation by medicos and the apex court had to intervene to restore health services in the country.

UNI

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