Hyderabad, India - The Congress government in Andhra Pradesh promised to clear all legal blocks against the implementation of reservations for Muslims in jobs and education from the next academic year 2007-08.
Though the issue is still pending before the Supreme Court, the government has promised an ordinance after March 31. However, in an attempt to steer clear of any legal hurdles, the state government is planning to scale down the quota from the promised five to four percent.
Since the move to provide reservations on the basis of religion was challenged in the court, the government is planning to implement the quota on the basis of social and economic backwardness.
Information and Energy Minister Mohammed Ali Shabbir Tuesday said constitutional experts F.S. Nariman and K.K. Venugopal were being consulted in this regard and would submit their recommendations to the government in a week or two.
He said the government was exploring options whether to file a special leave petition in the apex court or bring a fresh legislation for four percent reservation.
As the scheduled castes, scheduled tribe and backward classes in the state already enjoy 46 percent reservation, a four percent quota to Muslims would not exceed the total reservation beyond 50 percent - the limit set by the Supreme Court.
It was in June 2004 that the Congress government issued an order providing five percent reservations to Muslims. The high court, however, struck down the order, asking that a commission look into the issue.
The state government constituted a four-member commission, which submitted its report on June 14, 2005. An ordinance was issued in July the same year and the state assembly passed a legislation replacing the ordinance in October.
The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Nov 7, 2005, quashed the ordinance and the subsequent act as unconstitutional and void.
The Supreme Court then refused to give any interim relief to students belonging to the community for the academic year 2006-07. The apex court also refused to stay the high court order striking down the legislation passed by the state assembly.
The government had pleaded that Muslim candidates be allowed into various educational institutions under the controversial law providing five percent reservations. Under the five percent quota, Muslims students got 250 medical seats and more than 4,000 engineering seats for the academic year 2005-06.
While declining the stay, the Supreme Court in January, however, directed the authorities to maintain status quo in the case of those who have already availed of the quota.
Andhra Pradesh became the first state in India to pass legislation to provide reservations to Muslims, who constitute nine percent of the state's 76 million population.
Describing the move as unconstitutional, Bharatiya Janata Party members and some other groups had challenged it in the court.