Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Nov 7: Former Union Law Minister Ashwani Kumar on Monday applauded the Supreme Court’s decision, which was reached by a 3:2 majority and affirmed the constitutionality of the 103rd Amendment Act.
“The Supreme Court in a majority judgment has upheld the EWS reservation in public employment, private employment and education institutions on the basis of the economic criteria, which has been raising debate in this country for a very long time. The top court has said that economic backwardness can be a basis of reservation and this point has been reiterated even in the dissenting judgements,” Former Union Law Minister Ashwani Kumar said.
“Of course, there are different views on the subject and that is the fact that two distinguished judges have chosen to give a dissenting view on the overall judgement shows the debate will continue in the country,” he further said.
Former Law Minister further added, “I also believe that the state should give benefits to a person belonging to any caste if they are economically weaker. But the views on the Indira Sawhney case are different. The reservation can only be given only on a social basis. By amending the Constitution, the Parliament has given a priority to the economic basis to grant reservation and it has been upheld by the Supreme Court.”
The Economically Weaker Section (EWS) is given a 10% reservation in educational institutions and government jobs by the 103rd Amendment Act to the Constitution. The ruling’s significance, according to the top court, rests in the fact that economic deprivation as a justification for reservations is now recognised as a constitutional concept.
