SC to hear quota petition against DU and Symbiosis on Monday

New Delhi, July 15 (UNI) The Supreme Court will hear tomorrow the petition filed by Youth for Equality against DU and Symbiosis University, Pune for violating the stay on the reservation for OBCs by having columns for OBC candidates in their admission forms.

The petition does not contain specific prayer for initiating contempt of court proceeding against the two universities.

The court had stayed the reservation order for providing 27 per cent reservation to OBCs in admissions to centrally run educational institutions of higher studies such as IIT, IIM and Post Graduate Medical Sciences courses.

Many reservationists have filed number of petitions against the implementation of the impunged notification issued in January 2007 on the grounds that caste-based reservations shall divide the country along the caste lines and economy backwardness, irrespective of cast of the candidate should be the sole criteria for providing reservation.

The Central government has, however justified its policy caste-based reservations in admission on the ground that low-caste people have suffered exploitation for centuries and remain socially, educationally and economically backward and hence affirmative action on the part of the state is wholly justified for upliftment of the exploited section of Indian society.

The court had stayed the implementation of the notification for one year holding that caste-based census of 1931 which formed the basis of the Mandal Commision Report cannot be treated as authentic as the population of the country has risen sharply during last over 75 years and government must come out with some more authentic data of various caste in Indian society to justify 27 per cent quota for OBCs.

According to the Mandal Commission report, OBCs consist of 52 per cent of the total population of the country.

RJD of Railway Minister Lalu Prasad and Karunanidhi government in Tamil Nadu have also filed intervention application in support of the government reservation policy.

UNI