|
The Honorable Supreme Court of India in a historic judgment upheld 27 percent quota for OBC’s in higher educational Institutions of India. The apex court finally declared that the central government was legally and constitutionally right to reserve OBC quotas in premier educational institutions like the IITs and AIIMS. If the court finally gives its nod then the quota would be implemented in the institutions from current academic year.
The Five judge bench headed by Chief Justice KG Balkrishnan however made it clear that the ‘creamy layer’ among the OBC’s should not be included in the realm of reservations. The apex body also pronounced that the reservations should not be in perpetuity and have to be continually revised with time. The verdict has finally put a stamp on 27 percent reservation for OBC’s in India’s top notch educational institutions like the Indian Institute of Technology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University among others. It is still not clear whether the IIMs come under the purview of this ruling since the apex court has ruled that the quota would not stretch beyond graduation courses.
The educational Institutions will get a time period of three years to completely implement the Supreme Court verdict. Private Institutions like BITS Pilani, Symbiosis, TMA PAI which were not under the ambit of reservations will be covered under the Supreme Court ruling. Anti-quota activists however have always held that merit should be the criteria for admissions, with scholarships being provided to students with economic difficulties. The 27 percent reservation however ultimately is going to be a great boost for the central government, with the elections for the Assembly due this year.
