Fadnavis hails SC verdict on EWS reservation, promises Maratha quota soon
A constitution bench of the Supreme Court upheld the central law for 10% reservation benefits to people belonging to the EWS category in a 3-2 judgment on Monday.
Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday hailed the Supreme Court verdict on quota for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS). Fadnavis said the EWS reservation will be provided to the financially backward people who do not get covered into any caste reservations, while adding that the Maharashtra government is also “working on providing Maratha reservations in the state”.
“The Supreme Court gave a green signal to PM (Narendra) Modi's 10% EWS reservation quota, which will create new educational & employment opportunities. We are also working on providing Maratha reservations in the state. Meanwhile, eligible people of the state can avail of benefits under the 10% EWS reservation quota," Fadnavis told ANI.
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A constitution bench of the Supreme Court upheld the central law for 10% reservation benefits to people belonging to the EWS category in a 3-2 judgment on Monday. Justice Dinesh Maheshwari said that it “does not violate the Constitution’s basic structure or equality code by taking into account economic criteria”.
“It does not also cause damage to any essential feature by exceeding the 50% ceiling for quota since the ceiling is itself flexible,” he said.
A five-judge constitution bench, headed by Chief Justice UU Lalit, pronounced four separate verdicts on 40 petitions challenging the validity of the 103rd Constitution amendment promulgated by the Centre in 2019.
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While Justices Dinesh Maheshwari, Bela M Trivedi, and JB Pardiwala upheld the law, Justice S Ravindra Bhat along with the CJI shot down the same in their minority view.
On September 27, the top court had reserved the verdict on the legal question of whether the EWS quota violated the basic structure of the Constitution after hearing a battery of senior lawyers.
(With inputs from agencies)
