Govt hints at filing review petition on Jat quota

The Centre may file a review petition challenging the Supreme Court order of scrapping the reservation to Jats, a politically sensitive community in nine northern states. Union law minister DV Sadananda Gowda on Friday hinted at going in for a review petition before the Supreme Court.

Talking to Hindustan Times on the sidelines of a conference here on Friday, Gowda said the government would file a review petition, if necessary. "We have just received the judgment and are studying it. If necessary, we will file a review petition," the law minister replied to a question on the future course of action for the government.

His statement comes a day after the Prime Minister's Office issued a statement following a meeting of 70-member delegation of Jat leaders with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, where the government said it was studying the decision of the apex court and would try to find out a solution within the "legal framework".

The apex court on March 17 had scrapped the reservation for the Jat community in nine states given by the previous UPA government.

The Supreme Court had also slammed the Centre's decision to overlook the finding of an OBC panel that Jats are not a backward class. Jats enjoy a considerable influence in states like Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Delhi among other states, forcing the Modi government to tread cautiously on the politically sensitive issue.