Saying there was a need to examine whether the Government had unbridled powers to evolve reservation policies without restriction, the Supreme Court today referred to a larger Bench the issue of 27 per cent quota for OBCs in higher education institutions. This decision has led to fresh uncertainty over implementation of the reservation policy from this academic year.Following the order, the Government may approach the Chief Justice for early constitution of the Bench to hear the case as the court will sit for the last day tomorrow before the summer vacation begins on Monday. During the holiday till June-end, usually only the Vacation Bench sits to hear cases.The Bench of Justices Arijit Pasayat and L S Panta, which had earlier stayed implementation of the quota law, said that given the “considerable importance of the issues involved and its likely impact on the social life of the country as a whole, and the complexities of the questions”, it was appropriate a larger Bench hear the matter.It said that among the basic issues to be considered by the larger Bench are whether the 93rd Constitutional Amendment — which confers on the State unbridled power to make special provision for socially and economically backward classes — is violative of the Constitution’s basic structure, especially provisions relating to quotas in private institutions.The larger Bench will also consider the ambit and scope of Articles 15 (4) and (5) and whether the meaning of the term “special provisions” in these Articles include quotas by reservations of seats, especially in higher education institutions and professional and technical institutions, particularly those of national stature and in courses categorised as speciality or super speciality.It has also been left to the larger Bench to decide on the “pivotal challenges”, including validity of the quota law, caste-based reservations, caste-based affirmative action, and “further issues or questions involved.” The Bench also raised the question whether the law was inconsistent with the principles of secularism as minority institutions had been exempted.
