New Delhi : Constitution Bench of Supreme Court to hear petitions challenging EWS reservation today. A bench headed by Chief Justice UU Lalit will hear the matter.
Earlier in the hearing on September 15, the petitioners had said that it violates the constitutional value of equality and reservation on economic grounds has never been discussed in the Constitution. At the same time, according to those who argued in support of EWS, this reservation was expected for a long time and it should be welcomed.
On September 13, eminent academician Professor Dr. Mohan Gopal had opposed the EWS reservation saying that it would reverse the very meaning of reservation. The 103rd amendment brought for EW reservation is an attack on the Constitution.
On September 8, the court had fixed the points for hearing this case. Apart from Chief Justice UU Lalit, this Constitution Bench includes Justice Dinesh Maheshwari, Justice S Ravindra Bhatt, Justice Bela Trivedi and Justice JB Pardiwala. The petition has challenged the EWS reservation law in 2019. The court has appointed four lawyers as nodal counsel in this matter who will look into the similar arguments in the petitions for EWS reservation and reservation for Muslims in the socially and economically backward classes. After hearing both these matters, the court will also consider the matter of giving minority reservations to Sikhs in the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee. Apart from this, the Constitution Bench will also hear the demand for division of the Supreme Court into Appellate and Constitution Benches and the creation of Regional Benches of the Supreme Court. The Constitution Bench made it clear that it will first hear the reservation issue because many of these issues are related to each other.