NEW DELHI, 17 May 2008 — The Supreme Court yesterday vacated a Calcutta High Court order, which stayed Wednesday the implementation of 27 percent quota for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in postgraduate courses, including Indian Institutes of Management.
“Can the Calcutta High Court sit over the order of the Supreme Court?” the bench headed by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan asked.
A constitution bench of the Supreme Court last month unanimously favored a government plan to introduce 27 percent reservation for OBCs in higher educational institutions. The bench also ruled that the quantum of 27 percent quota for OBCs was not illegal. The delegation of power to center to determine OBCs was valid, the bench said.
Yesterday the Supreme Court said that as it had earlier upheld the validity of the act providing OBC quota, the high court could not stay its implementation. The Supreme Court held that subject to final outcome of the matter before it, all admissions would be provisional in postgraduate courses in central educational institutions under the act.
In response to a petition filed by student Sayan Guha, a general category aspirant, challenging the government policy, the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday stayed the implementation of the OBC quota at the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta.
Seeking a stay against the high court order, the federal government argued that if the high court order were to be honored, the entire admission process would be in turmoil. Besides, the government policy of OBC quota would remain nonfunctional until the high court order was not suspended until the final disposal of the federal government’s appeal.
Asked earlier to comment on the Calcutta High Court order, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram told reporters: “We will do everything possible to ensure that these institutions begin admission and provide reservation in 2008-09.”
