Thread by @LawBeatInd

#SupremeCourt to continue hearing plea challenging 27% reservation for OBCs and 10% reservation for EWS in All India Quota (AIQ) for NEET PG Medical courses.

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The matter will be taken up immediately after the fresh matter.
Court to commence at 10:30 AM.

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Yesterday, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had submitted that, "Let us go ahead with the counseling, then we can decide. The Court can then hear the matter and we'll continue."

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lawbeat.in/top-stories/ne…

Supreme Court starts hearing the matter.

Senior Advocate Arvind Datar continues arguing.

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Datar submitted that they formed a committee in 2006 which gave a report in 2010, after extensive deliberations of income criteria, it was attached to the counter of the government, they have gone state wise...the BPL for the urban area was 559/ person per month.

The Committee, they reffered to various criteria to determine poverty, Datar added.

The family should be a unit of identification of poverty, they said don't adopt creamy layer criteria, Datar added.

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Datar: When there is an existing committee, which gone into it extensively for 5 years, there must be some reason to defer. What is the reason for taking decision other than Sinho commission. Here is an exhaustive exercise done.

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Datar- Another point is, how do they come to 8 Lakhs?

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Datar- The second point is, explanation to Article 256, if it says state, the State will have its own criteria to decide, the all India average is...

Justice Chandrachud- We are talking about AIQ, it's not the state quota.

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Datar- For this there has been no consultation with any of the states Milords.

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Datar-for this year, I go with Mr Divan that the rules of the game should not be changed.

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Datar: It is best to take a fixed income, all the BPL get some that's already known... I'll come to 5 acres land criteria, To keep a national thing of 5 acres across the country in arbitrary, in Kerala it's virtually impossible.

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Now for residential asset, it is 1000 sq feets, there is Delhi Mumbai, etc. There is complete non application of mind, Datar adds.

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Datar- You are going to compound the people who are not getting reservation anywhere.

This 8 Lakh criteria, salary of a class 4 employee is anywhere between 18 to 30 thousand, this way none of the children will qualify.

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Datar says "My submission is Let's not change the rule of the game, let's stick to the criteria that was there is in the prospectus, if your Lordships upholds this they will implement it elsewhere without any study whatsoever."

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Justice Chandrachud- We have heard Mr Shyam Divan and Mr Data all left are Interveners....Yes Mr Shrirang Chaudhary what is your point.

Chaudhary- After 102nd constitutional ammendment the OBC list has to be notified by the President.

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Chaudhary- the second submission is that Justice Rohini commission was setup to examine sub categorisation to examine, castes are divided into 4 categories, this will have casts distribution reservation at 2%, 6%, 9% and 10% from a total of 27%.

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Senior Advocate Anand Grover- Under Article 16, apart from the family income, other incomes are not taken into account. EWS should be perceived in level to present economic situation.

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EWS has a multidimensional poverty, that is economic, social etc, Grover adds.

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Grover: There is no reason as to why it was driven upto 8 Lakhs.

Justice Chandrachud: What you are saying is use your power and restrict it to 5 Lakhs.

Grover: Earlier, it was 2.5 Lakhs, now with inflation etc, it may be varied.

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Adv Archana Pathak Dave: I have filed an intervention on behalf of Resident Doctors Federation, we are the one who went on #Strike
45 thousand doctors were inducted,
My submission is that the Counseling has to start at the earliest, we have very low workforce.

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Justice Chandrachud- You concern is genuine, rest assured that your concern is well take.

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Adv Apoorve Karol: Resident Doctor's may be protected, I take second the submissions of my colleague in view of #Omicron it is necessary.

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Adv Varun Thakur: I'm opposing the EWS reservation, constitutional validity is under challenge.

Justice Chandrachud- We got your point, anybody else.
Now we'll turn for Solicitor General of India.

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Mehta- I'll paraphrase my points and then elaborate.
- I would dispell the confusion, we are not changing any rules midway, we are not changing the goal post.
- Regime that is the subject matter is already implemented except for the UG and PG since 2019.

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- Submission that this is unconstitutional is wrong.
- The report of the committee headed by Mr Pandey, eventually, no person with common sense would never reach the conclusion made in the report.

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Mehta- If I appear in examination my performance should be the best, it's not that if I'm getting 10% reservation then my performance may be slightly less.

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Mehta: All the IITs, NITs and IIITs are all central Universities and have implemented this 27% OBC and 10% EWS because i.e the decision taken as back as in 2019.

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Mehta: All UPSC examinations are taking place with this 27% OBC and 10% EWS, MDS counselling was also as per this, Mehta added.
Don't take my argument that as if these are done and hence it should not be considered.
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I never argue on jurisdiction, this Court is the highest court in the world, Mehta added.

Court to continue hearing the matter after lunch at 1:30 PM.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta continues arguing.

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Mehta submits, The real role reservation starts from counseling, it has nothing to do with during examinations.

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Mehta- The Government took a decision that let us increase the number of seats in all colleges. So, the increase in number of seats will not harm the general category students and it was increased to accommodate the EWS.
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Mehta- OBC reservation is constitutionally permitted, he further submits that None of the judgment of your Lordships even remotely suggests that there cannot be any reservation in PG.

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Mehta making submissions from Pradeep Jain judgment.

Justice Chandrachud- so they said, in super speciality there should not be any reservation in domicile or institution.

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Mehta: Milords it was argued that there was no study conducted before the committee, but I want to inform as officer of the court that there was an study. There are pleadings showing...

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Mehta: The Pandey Committee report what were the efforts made,

Justice Chandrachud- the 103rd ammendment and this notification, whole consultation was complete and everything was done in two days.

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Mehta: Mr Natraj will seek instructions on that and I'll tell at the end.
We understand the statistics,

It is my personal view that, your Lord
I remember a quote "Data is used in the same way as a drunken man uses a lamp post for support rather than illumination."

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Mehta further submits that, there may always be a wider mind who can bring an alternative view, I can find out points that they would have gone in, but that is not the magnitude.

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Mehta: They infact say that 8 Lakhs is less and they justify it, and if we see in real world it is justified also.

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Mehta: One of the question that was very rightly bothering your Lordships is that both EWS and creamy layer can have same limit, they have answered it saying that it shall not be clubbed.

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Justice Chandrachud- The second affidavit that you submitted said that you took 8 Lakhs for EWS from the creamy layers.

What you suggest is that the tax limit is an alternative as per the Sinho Committee report.

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Justice Chandrachud- When you first set the limit, you followed the Creamy layer, then you decided to revisit.
Today's income tax exemption limit, upto 5 Lakhs effectively you can say that there is no tax, that is the area where we would like you to take us.

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Mehta: The committee says is that even if he has some room to do savings...

Justice Chandrachud- It appears what they are doing is, there may be some investments. It looks the committee has made an attempt to justify 8 Lakhs.

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Mehta: There has been no attempt to justify, Mehta referring to the report Submits, the income is family income, if there are 3 members earning 25000, they'll cross that limit, this would be more severe if 5 Lakhs is the limit, they don't want over inclusion also.

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Justice Chandrachud- One other thing we want to ask you, the Pandey Committee the 3 norms the area of the flat, municipality, they say it would be impossible that be done away with next year, why don't you do away with it this year.?

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Mehta: Now if we change the rule of the game, now if we ask for new certificates, that will have a cascading affect.

Justice Chandrachud- We got your point.

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Justice Chandrachud- Now we have given you substantial amount of time, how much more time would you need.

Mehta: Just a few points Milords.

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Any chage at this stage will delay it, Mehta adds.

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Sr ADV Shyam Divan: I would be given some time for the rejoinder after this is over.

Justice Chandrachud- Certainly.

ASG KM Nataraj: Only a few points, one case came before this Court in 1986, the reservation could be provided it was said.

Nataraj- The scheme was proposed before the court of providing All India Quota, the Court allowed, hence the argument that the court made the reservation and the court has the only right is not right.

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Justice Chandrachud- Yes we have seen that judgement, the power is there.

Nataraj: It can be by executive or legislative, and it's not like the argument has been made, that it can only be done by court.

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Senior Advocate P Wilson commences arguments for the OBCs.

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Wilson: Everything submitted by the Solicitor General is for institutional reservation.

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Wilson: For central quota it has been implemented in 2008, they challenged the 2021 notification, you cannot be choosy. This is selective challenge to reservation.

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Wilson: The approval was given by the Court for AIQ, we approached HC seeking 27% quota. Finality has been reached, the entire motive of reopening the whole thing cannot be done.

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Wilson: Till today we are struggling, 4000 UG and PG courses, in last 10 years, 40000 students may have not been considered.

Justice Chandrachud- Are you opposing the EWS reservation.

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Wilson: I'm not opposing that.

Justice Chandrachud- You are saying that OBC reservation cannot be on the basis of creamy layer.

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Mehta: This is not the issue here, he is in support of OBC.

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Lawyers intervening.

Justice Chandrachud- Your time has not come yet, then you say that Supreme Court couldn't conclude.

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Advocate A Mariarputham appearing for State of Tamil Nadu submits most of my arguments are covered by Mr Wilson, what I want to add is that the constitution bench had upheld article 15 and 2006 reservation in favour of OBC.

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Mariarputham: Pradeep Jain is not dealing with all India merit, it is on regional merits.

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Justice Chandrachud- We are wrapping up today, we cannot keep it up for tomorrow.

Adv VK Biju: everybody were attacking from the other side against EWS, I'll submit that what was the submissions in Constituent assembly.
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Biju- This is a revolutionary decision taken by the Government let it continue.

Justice Chandrachud- Now you give us a note, don't tell me you are EWS in the Court, in Court everybody is equal.

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Adv Shashank Ratnoo- In the case of OBC salary and agriculture is not counted, and in EWS everything is considered. This is the point I wanted to make.

Justice Chandrachud- Mr Datar and Mr Divan now you have 2 Minutes.

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Justice Chandrachud- Can you give us 2 page note, we are also exhausted.

Divan: My first Argument is of not changing the rule.
We all agree as far as the dates are concerned.

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Divan: At this juncture person who registered know that what seats slot they are supposed to compete, you can't change once the registrations are over in such competitive exams.

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Divan: We are not dealing with a handful of seats, we are dealing with 2500 seats.

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Divan: There is a challenge on MDS which is on board today, they said MDS everything is over and there is no problem. This will be in my note also.

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Divan: Now in the context what does Pradeep Jain do, something from the constitutional perspective, there are certain rights that are written down, there is a second set of right which has been derived by the Court. This is what we are concerned with here.

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Divan: The Vishakha right, it's not which is already there, it is created, that is why over all AIQ 50% it was evolved in the context of domiciliary and requirement.

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Divan: It is a court created entitlement, we are not saying that you do not have authority, but in this case the Court created it in this situation did you have the right to make chage through an executive order.

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Divan: Everything would have been over, but ofcourse there is an public health emergency, when you read it in this context...

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Divan: This is putting me on a disadvantage. When you see Abhay Nath, they issued public notice also, their understanding was very different than of what the officers of the Court interpreted. There understanding then was also that it is court created.

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Divan concludes his arguments.

Datar: In regards to Pavitra judgment, it should be on the basis of data available, this 8 Lakh is without any data whatsoever.

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Datar: Let us keep it at 2.5 Lakhs, because after this you become an assessee in Income Tax.

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Datar: If your lordship upholds the asset category, then it would be very difficult to get the certificates.

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Justice Chandrachud- Thank you

Hearing is concluded.

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The Court has reserved its order.

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