Date:18/11/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/11/18/stories/2008111860351100.htm

National

54% seat increase is to limit quota to 50 per cent: Centre

J. Venkatesan

NEW DELHI: The government on Monday justified in the Supreme Court its direction to increase the number of seats in central educational institutions to 54 per cent of the total seats.

A five-judge Constitution Bench comprising Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Justices Arijit Pasayat, Altamas Kabir, R.V. Raveendran and Dalveer Bhandari is hearing a petition filed by P.V. Indiresan challenging the July 3 notification.

Senior counsel K.K. Venugopal, appearing for the petitioner, said the number of seats could be increased only to the extent of 27 per cent. If there were 100 seats in an institution, only 27 per cent of seats could be increased to accommodate OBC candidates.

During the last 60 years, it had never been given the intention to give merit the go-by in institutions of higher learning. Now the notification was a poll gimmick to get votes and for extraneous reasons. Step by step meritorious students were being given a raw deal, counsel said.

Justice Raveendran intervened and said: “For every 100 seats in an institution 54 seats are added. By this, OBC will get 42 seats, SC/STs 35 seats and the general category [GC] will remain at 77 seats. You wanted the government to protect the GC. The government has done that. If 27 per cent is calculated only on 100 seats, the GC will get only 50.5, but by increasing the strength by 54 seats, you [GC] are getting 77 seats intact. You can’t have your cake and eat it too.”

The judge further said: “If your contention is accepted, then of the 127 seats, the OBC will get 27 seats, the SC/ST 23 seats and the GC 77 seats. But if you calculate the percentage for SC/STs, it will get reduced to around 17 per cent of the total strength of 127 seats. That is why the government says it wants to increase the strength by 54 seats. What is your difficulty?”

Mr. Venugopal, however, said: “When you [government] say ‘number of seats’ for the GC and ‘percentage’ for the OBC, this is not mathematics. This is something else.”

Justice Pasayat told counsel: “The idea is not to reduce the number of seats for the GC and at the same time to ensure a quota for the OBCs.”

To a question from Justice Pasayat whether the raised income ceiling for the creamy layer was being implemented with retrospective effect, Mr. Vahanvati said the October 14 court order clearly stated admissions would be subject to rules and regulations of the institution. Only by increasing the number of seats by 54 per cent could the total percentage of reservation be restricted to 50.

When he said none of the GC candidates was denied admission by the application of the creamy layer, Justice Pasayat said the Centre should put this statement in an affidavit.