Date:27/07/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/07/27/stories/2007072754641500.htm

National

Final hearing of quota case from August 7

Legal Correspondent

Centre’s application to vacate stay will come up on July 31

Petitioners, respondents to file written submissions by August 4
Nothing wrong in three judges hearing interlocutory applications: Centre

New Delhi: A five-judge Constitution Bench will hear from August 7 petitions challenging the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006, and the 93rd Constitution Amendment law under which the legislation was enacted.

The Act provides for 27 per cent quota for the Other Backward Classes (OBC).

Considering the urgency and the submissions by counsel, a Bench comprising Chief Justice K. G. Balakrishnan and Justices R. V. Raveendran and Dalveer Bhandari on Thursday fixed the date for the final hearing. It asked the petitioners and respondents to file written submissions by August 4.

Appearing for the Centre, senior counsel K. Parasaran said a two-judge Bench already framed a set of 30 questions for consideration. ’

The Centre’s fresh application for vacating the March 29 interim stay order, which restrained the Government from implementing the quota law for the academic year 2007-2008, should be taken up on July 31 as decided earlier.

Senior counsel for the parties K.K. Venugopal, Rajeev Dhavan, Mukul Rohatgi, M. L. Lahoty and others suggested that this application be also heard by the five-judge Bench.

Mr. Dhavan said that as the two-judge Bench had elaborately heard the matter and stayed the implementation, a three-judge Bench could not sit in appeal on that decision. Mr. Parasaran, however, said that under the rules there was nothing wrong in three judges hearing interlocutory applications.

The Chief Justice told counsel that as the hearing of the application was already fixed for July 31, “we will hear it and decide what can be done that day.”

The Centre said that subsequent to the stay order, the apex court, in the case of Voice (Consumer Care Council) vs. Tamil Nadu (questioning the validity of the 69 per cent quota law in the State) directed creation of additional seats for open category candidates, who, in its opinion, were deprived of admission because of the reservation provided for in the impugned Act. As the number of seats in the general category was in no way reduced, the stay should be vacated and Central institutions allowed to fill the OBC quota in the increased seats.