NEET-PG Counselling/ EWS/OBC Quota Case- Supreme Court To Continue Hearing Tomorrow

Supreme Court to resume hearing tomorrow. The bench will hear the Datar and other petitioners after fresh admissions cases are over. Justice Chandrachud said there are 15 fresh admission cases, and they will be over within about 30 minutes. Solicitor General will respond after the petitioners' arguments.

Datar: Basis for 8 lakhs is completely arbitrary. Look at what they've said. If a person has got money to make investment in PF's and shares and make savings, he would not be called as EWS. Any person who gets capital gains of 1 lakh from shares, can he be called EWS?

Justice Chandrachud : Mr.Datar, which are the courses in which it(EWS) has been implemented?

Datar : To the best of my knowledge, it has not been implemented in any courses.

Justice Chandrachud : The affidavit says it has been implemented in UPSC and JEE.

ASG Nataraj clarifies : In many central institutions it has been implemented long ago.

P Wilson : Some states have also implemented.

Datar : Unlike the commissions for OBC reservations, there is no study undertaken for EWS reservations. The present report justified EWS criteria but there was no study undertaken.

Datar says that the Constitution amendment providing for EWS was notified on January 15, 2019.  Within three days the office memorandum specifying the EWS criteria came.

Divan concludes. Senior Adv Arvind Datar starts. Datar says his arguments are confined to the EWS criteria.

Divan : In many courses, postgraduate is the end of the road, and that is the super-speciality in some departments. So the principle regarding super-speciality courses will apply to postgraduate courses too.

Divan : Postgraduate admissions must be completely merit-based and reservation must be minimal.

Divan refers to Supreme Court judgments which hold that there should be no reservation in super-specialty courses.

Divan argues that the Govt's executive order cannot implement OBC/EWS quota in AIQ which was created as per the Court's directions "An executive order cannot nullify a judgment of this court..this right is recognised and created by this court which is a facet of Article 14", Divan argues.

Divan says that to implement SC/ST reservation in AIQ, the Centre had filed an application in the Supreme Court and it was on the basis of the Court order that the SC/ST quota was implemented.

"This is an appropriate manner. There is an IA & application made for SC/ST and after due application of mind by the court, the court agrees on the carve-out made", Divan submites..