An appeal was filed by the Andhra Pradesh government challenging the high court verdict striking down a law providing 4% reservation for Muslims in educational institutions and jobs.
The Supreme Court today admitted an appeal filed by the Andhra Pradesh government challenging the high court verdict striking down a law providing 4% reservation for Muslims in educational institutions and jobs.
A bench of chief justice K G Balakrishnan and Deepak Verma while admitting the State's special leave petition said it would pass an interim order on the issue on March 25.
A seven-judge Constitution bench of the high court had by a majority judgement of 5:2 held the Andhra Pradesh Reservation for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes of Muslims Act, 2007 "unsustainable" and violative of Article 14, 15(1) and 16 (2) of the Constitution.
The high court, while setting aside the state Act, had also quashed a subsequent 2007 government order allocating 4% reservation to Muslim groups in educational institutions and jobs.
The state had moved a bill in the Assembly on the basis of a report submitted to it by Andhra Pradesh Commission for Backward Classes (APBC). The bill was later passed by the Assembly.
The report had recommended that the socially and educationally backward should be adequately represented in the state.
The government order was issued on July 7, 2007 providing for the quota to Muslim groups.
The high court held that the recommendation made by the APBC was unsustainable as it failed to evolve and spell out proper and relevant criteria for identification of social and educational backwardness or social backwardnes and inadequate representation in public employment among classes
or persons belonging to Muslim community.
It said the data was not collected properly by the APBC for determining the social and educational backwardness of the Muslims in the state.
The high court said the Commission relied on data collected and observations made by Anthropological Survey of India which was meant to make an anthropological profile of Indian population and has no relevance to the affirmative action or reservation under Article 15(4) and 16 (4) of the Constitution which enables a state to make law on reservation.
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