SC to hear Centre's quota petition on July 31

New Delhi, July 26: The Supreme Court will hear on July 31 the application of the Centre seeking a vacation of the stay against the implemantation of the 27 per cent quota to OBCs in Centrally-run educational institutions of higher studies.

A bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan, Justices R V Raveendran and Dalveer Bhandari fixed the date of the Centre's application during the hearing of petition of challenging the government notification issued on January 2007, saying OBCs qouta would be enforced from the academic session 2007-08.

A two-judge bench headed by Justice Arijit Pasayat, however, stated that government notification for one year has not been able to provide the caste-based data of OBCs to prove its claims.

The government has relied on the Mandal Commission report which was badsed on a 1931 census.

The batch of petition challenging the government notification was later referred to a five-judge constitution bench as the petition raised some important questions of law as well as public importance.

The constitution bench will start the hearing of the main petition from August 7.

All the parties against the reservation have been directed to complete the pleadings and to framed the important issues for consideration by the constitution bench by August 4.

The anti-reservationist have been opposing the reservation policy on the grounds that caste-based reservation will divide Indian society along with the caste lines and economic backwardness should not be only the criterion for providing reservation.

The Centre and its allies like DMK and RJD are, however, supporting the reservation on the grounds that the people belonging to lower caste have been oppressed for centuries. The affirmative action from the government to uplift the section of Indian society are fully justified.

UNI