New Delhi, India - The Supreme Court Friday stayed further admissions in educational institutions in Andhra Pradesh against a newly-enacted state law granting four percent quota to Muslims students.
A bench, headed by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, stayed further admission in the state's professional colleges, while granting immunity to those Muslim students already admitted against the quota.
The stay comes two days before the last date, Sep 30, for admission into professional colleges in the state. The bench has adjourned the mater for further hearing to next Friday to examine the legality of having quota on the basis of religion.
The bench, which also included, Justices R.V. Raveendran and V.S. Sripurkar, stayed the admission while questioning not only the legality of religion-based quota but also on the government's methodology in determining backward classes among Muslim.
Senior counsel Harish Salve, appearing for the petitioner Murlidhar Rao, pointed out to the court that the Andhra Pradesh commission for backward classes was asked to determine who among the Muslims were backward rather than determine who were backward classes, irrespective of religion.
Salve also pointed out to the court that the commission left out 10 sects like Pathan, Irani, Sayed and Moughals and ruled that all other Muslims were backward.
Salve said that the sects among the Muslim community that were excluded from the backward classes list existed in the state in miniscule percentage. This left the bench wondering if the state commission had done its job properly.
Questioning the legality of the law, the bench observed that instead of giving an exclusive four percent reservation to Muslims, why can't the government include certain sects in the general backward community list and provide them general reservation as is being done in other states.
The apex court was hearing a petition by T. Murlidhar Rao, who had approached the court against the Andhra Pradesh High Court interim order that had refused to suspend the law earlier and permitted the admission process to go on, subject to its final judgement.
Rao contended that the high court judgement, which allowed temporary admission to Muslim students on the ordinance based on religion, would deprive the general category students of four percent of the seats in professional colleges.
Andhra Pradesh had promulgated the ordinance for four percent reservation to Muslim students on July 6, 2007, providing reservation to several sub sects within the Muslim community by treating them as Backward Classes.
Rao's petition contended that the government issued the ordinance even though a five-judge bench of the high court had earlier declared illegal a similar law by the state government, giving five percent reservation to Muslims.
He contended that the state government proclaimed the ordinance in July though the Supreme Court had earlier refused to stay the state high court's verdict, which declared as illegal five percent exclusive reservation for Muslims.