EWS Reservation- Supreme Court Constitution Bench Hearing DAY 2- LIVE UPDATES

Kumar: Let us test it on first principle? What is the ration? Poverty. What is the nexus with the object of classification? Object is to provide jobs. How are these poor people different than other poor people?

J Bhat: Where is that- when the govt set to defend it saying that when it's not 16(4), it's 16(1)- which the court has struck down. So under the old regime could not be done.

Kumar [continues from Indira Sawhney judgement]: "Any reservation or affirmative action on economic criteria cannot be upheld under the doctrine of reasonable classification." So economic criteria is incapable of rational classification.

Kumar [continues reading from Indira Sawhney judgement]: If there is a disparity between rich and poor, it has to be minimised. Public servants- maximum paid should be 10, and lowest should be 1- 1/10 is the ratio. This is remedy for poor man, that is, minimum inequality.

Kumar: How will you determine if these people are inadequately represented? What is the group? You cannot take a family and say that they're inadequately represented. 16(4) also lays down who are economically weaker sections. 

Kumar: [continues from Justice Sahai's opinion]: "Since Article 16(4) has a constitutional purpose and is to go on only till such goal is achieved, economic backwardness is not eligible..."

Kumar: [continues from Justice Sahai's opinion] "Any reservation curtailing right of equal opportunity has to withstand the test of equal protection or benign discrimination...It should be a continuous suffering."

Kumar: [Reading Justice Sahai's opinion in Indira Sawhney judgement] "De facto difficulties in determining such backwardness stand..."

Kumar: (from Indira Sawhney) "Backward class cannot be only on basis of solely economic criteria." This is the view uniformly taken by this court. That is why this is a legislative Judgement to overrule Indira Sawhney.

[Refers to Justice Sahai's opinion]

Kumar: My predecessor has already read Justice Sawant's declaration. (in Indira Sawhney)

[Reads majority opinion]