08-09-2006, 12:28 AM
<!--emo&:angry:--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/mad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='mad.gif' /><!--endemo--> No clubbing of categories for quotas: SC
[ 8 Aug, 2006 2233hrs ISTPTI ]
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NEW DELHI: Holding clubbing of two classes of people for reservation as "unreasonable", the Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that state cannot treat unequals as equals.
"In our opinion, the amalgamation of two classes of people for reservation would be unreasonable as two different classes are treated similarly which is in violation of the mandate of Article 14 of the Constitution which is to treat similar similarly and to treat different differently.
"It is well settled that to treat unequals as equals also violated Article 14," a Bench comprising Justice AR Lakshmanan and Justice LS Panta said.
The ruling was delivered while setting aside the verdict of the Jharkhand High Court affirming the decision of the State Government to amulgate the two classes, Extremely Backward Class and Backward Class, and the reduction of reservation from 12 per cent and nine per cent respectively to 14 per cent only for the purpose of admission in professional educational institution.
Jharkhand Government, through a notification on October 10, 2002 had amalgated the two classes for reservation.
Holding the decision as "arbitrary" and "unreasonable", Justice Lakshmanan, writing the judgement for the Bench, said "the state has failed to show any new circumstances except for a bald statement that the same was done after careful application of mind and due deliberation by the highest policy making body, i.e the Council of Ministers".
The court said while clubbing the two classes the state was devoid of any material or empirical data to indicate that the circumstances had been changed and it had also not undertaken any study or research or work.
<span style='color:blue'><span style='font-size:21pt;line-height:100%'>(This is very unpragmatic judgement by Supreme Court which I have seen in recent times.)</span></span>
[ 8 Aug, 2006 2233hrs ISTPTI ]
RSS Feeds| SMS NEWS to 8888 for latest updates
NEW DELHI: Holding clubbing of two classes of people for reservation as "unreasonable", the Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that state cannot treat unequals as equals.
"In our opinion, the amalgamation of two classes of people for reservation would be unreasonable as two different classes are treated similarly which is in violation of the mandate of Article 14 of the Constitution which is to treat similar similarly and to treat different differently.
"It is well settled that to treat unequals as equals also violated Article 14," a Bench comprising Justice AR Lakshmanan and Justice LS Panta said.
The ruling was delivered while setting aside the verdict of the Jharkhand High Court affirming the decision of the State Government to amulgate the two classes, Extremely Backward Class and Backward Class, and the reduction of reservation from 12 per cent and nine per cent respectively to 14 per cent only for the purpose of admission in professional educational institution.
Jharkhand Government, through a notification on October 10, 2002 had amalgated the two classes for reservation.
Holding the decision as "arbitrary" and "unreasonable", Justice Lakshmanan, writing the judgement for the Bench, said "the state has failed to show any new circumstances except for a bald statement that the same was done after careful application of mind and due deliberation by the highest policy making body, i.e the Council of Ministers".
The court said while clubbing the two classes the state was devoid of any material or empirical data to indicate that the circumstances had been changed and it had also not undertaken any study or research or work.
<span style='color:blue'><span style='font-size:21pt;line-height:100%'>(This is very unpragmatic judgement by Supreme Court which I have seen in recent times.)</span></span>