EWS Category / Supreme Court considers EWS reservation valid, said - upper castes will continue to get 10 percent reservation

EWS Category: Today is an important day for EWS category. A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court, by a 3-2 judgment, ruled in favor of EWS reservation and declared it completely valid. The judges who delivered the verdict included Chief Justice UU Lalit, besides Justices S Ravindra Bhat, Dinesh Maheshwari, JB Pardiwala and Bela M Trivedi. The two judges who did not support the decision are Chief Justice UU Lalit and Justice S Ravindra Bhat. Both these judges have called this reservation wrong. While the rest of the three judges termed this EWS reservation as completely constitutional and said that the economically weaker upper castes will continue to get this reservation.

When was EWS reservation implemented

The system of EWS reservation was implemented by the central government in the year 2019. The 103rd amendment to the Constitution was made by the Central Government to implement this. The EWS quota implemented in 2019 was challenged in the court by several petitioners, including the present Tamil Nadu government, calling it against the Constitution. However, later in 2022, the Constitution Bench was constituted and on 13 September, the Constitution Bench of Chief Justice UU Lalit, Justice Dinesh Maheshwari, Justice Ravindra Bhatt, Justice Bela M Trivedi and Justice JB Padarwala started hearing on it.

What has the petitioners argued

In this case, the petitioners have argued that the purpose of EWS reservation was to uplift the socially discriminated class. But if its basis is poverty, then SC, ST and OBC should also get a place in it. Along with this, the petitioners have said in their argument that the EWS quota violates the limit of 50 percent reservation.

What is the government's side on this

On EWS reservation, it has been said on behalf of the government that this system is necessary to provide social and economic equality to the EWS section. On behalf of the central government, it was said that neither the reservation nor any other class is harmed by this system. On the other hand, on the matter of 50 percent reservation limit, the central government says that the 50 percent limit that is being talked about is not a constitutional system. The government said that this has come from a decision of the Supreme Court, so it is not in this situation that reservation cannot be given beyond this.