MP high court: Seek stay when quota rule is put into practice

BHOPAL/JABALPUR: A division bench of MP high court headed by acting Chief Justice R S Jha said on Monday, while hearing a petition challenging constitutional validity of 27 per cent reservation to OBCs, that if the provision is put into practice, the petitioners might seek stay on the operation of ordinance promulgated by the state government to increase reservation for OBCs from 13 per cent to 27 per cent.
As the two petitions filed in the high court challenging constitutionality of 27 per cent reservation for OBCs came up for hearing before the division bench of Justice R S Jha and Justice V K Shukla, counsel for the state government apprised the court that a similar petition was pending for disposal before the Supreme Court as well, and therefore hearing the petition in high court won’t be appropriate.
However, the judges while posting the case for hearing after two weeks, said the petitioner could approach the court for stay on the operation of state government’s ordinance which provides for increase in quota for OBCs to 27 per cent from 13 per cent, if anyone is given benefit of the quota.
One of the petitioners NGO MP Nagrik Upbhokta Manch had contended that increasing quota for OBCs to 27 per cent, despite apex court order in the Indira Sahni Vs Union of India case where nine-judge constitutional bench set the quota limit for government jobs and admission in educational institutios to 50 per cent, was in violation of the Constitution and needed to be struck down.