RJD and DMK approach SC in quota case

New Delhi, May 3 (UNI) The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the DMK have moved the Supreme Court seeking intervention in writ petitions challenging the government notification providing 27 per cent reservation to the OBCs in admission to Centrally run educational institutions of higher learning.

The applicant parties, who are Congress allies at the Centre, have sought to intervene on behalf of OBCs as representatives of socially, educationally and economically backward sections of the society.

The petitioners have also pleaded that the government notification issued in January this year providing reservation to OBCs from the academic session 2007-08 was a right step in the direction of upliftment of backward castes.

Tamil Nadu has provided 69 per cent reservation in violation of the judgement of a nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court in Mandal Commission case which has fixed 50 per cent upper limit for quota.

The petitions challenging the government notification filed by anti-reservationists are coming up for hearing on May 8.

The Apex Court has already stayed the operation of the impugned notification for a year which means that the government can not implement its notification from the current academic session.

The UPA government at the Centre is trying to get the case referred to a five-judge constitution bench as substantial questions of law were involved.

The Centre is also opposing the exclusion of creamy layer from the benefits of reservation.

The two political parties have relied on the Apex Court judgement in Indira Sawhny case which has accepted Mandal Commission report that OBCs constitute 52 per cent of the total population in the country.

The Apex Court has, however, not been impressed with the authenticity of 1931 caste based census data relied upon in the Mandal Commission report. The two applications are likely to come up for consideration of the court on May 8.

UNI