Date of judgement:
22nd December 2021
Bench:
Justice P.V. Kunhikrishnan
Parties:
Plaintiffs – Vinay Shankar
Defendants –Union of India & Ors.
SUBJECT
In this case, the Kerala High Court held that the 10% EWS reservation quota must be applied to Veterinary & Dental Courses Under KEAM
OVERVIEW
- The State Government had taken a decision to provide 10% reservation to the persons belonging to Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) of the society in admissions to educational institutions including professional and other higher educational institutions.
- A writ petition was filed before the Kerala High Court seeking directions to the respondents to implement the EWS reservation in the Veterinary & Dental Courses under Kerala Engineering Architecture and Medical (KEAM) and thereby increase the number of seats.
- The respondent submitted that the fear of the petitioners that no reservation would be provided to the EWS was baseless as the government had already established the reservation.
- Furthermore, the 10% reservation was not breaching the 50% reservation ceiling established by the Supreme Court in the case of Indira Sawhney vs Union of India in 1992.
ISSUES
Whether the 10% EWS reservation must be implemented in Veterinary & Dental Courses Under KEAM?
IMPORTANT PROVISIONS
Constitution of India
- Article 15 (6): This Section empowers the Government to formulate reservation schemes for the economically disadvantaged groups.
ANALYSIS
- The Court held that the 10% reservation was a policy decision of the State Government. The Government had already established the applicability of the 10% reservation.
- Apart from that, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment had also issued directions to the institutions to implement the reservation by increasing the number of seats.
- Hence, the Court held that no further clarity was required on the issue and hence closed the writ petition.
CONCLUSION
There has been a lot of litigation regarding the constitutionality and applicability of EWS quota in educational institutions. It is high time that the Supreme Court of India must deliver a concrete judgment covering all aspects of the EWS quota and decide its constitutionality. This will also help the policy makers in drafting policies and legislations. \
The concept of EWS reservation is aimed at creating socio-economic equality in the society by providing reservation on the basis on economic status.
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