Karnataka Government Temporarily Suspends Scrapping of 4% OBC Quota for Muslims till April 18 [Read Order]

NEW DELHI: The Karnataka government on Thursday assured the Supreme Court it would not make any admission to educational institutions or appointment on jobs in terms of its March 27 order scrapping 4% OBC quota for Muslims in the state till April 18.

The state government's statement came as the top court observed the decision was prima facie based upon "fallacious", "shaky" and "flawed" basis.

A bench of Justices K M Joseph and B V Nagarathna, which was about to pass interim stay, granted time till Monday to the state government to file a response to the writ petition filed by L Ghulam Rasool and others, challenging the validity of the order.

The court fixed the matter for hearing on Tuesday, April 18.

During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted, "None of the candidates in admission to educational institutions or in appointment for a job would be affected until April 18 in compliance of its order."

The bench recorded the statement by Mehta on behalf of the state government as it decided to examine on April 18 validity of the government order, taken just days before announcement of state Assembly polls.

Senior advocates Kapil Sibal, Dushyant Dave, Prof Ravivarma Kumar and Gopal Sankaranarayanan appeared for the petitioners.

After hearing them, the bench said the decision was prima facie based on fallacious assumption and was vitiated as it was based on interim report of a Commission.

"A large number of people were denied the benefit of reservation by a stroke of a single decision," the court noted.

We're just saying that prima facie, the order you have passed appears to suggest that the foundation of your decision-making process is shaky and flawed," the bench said.

The bench also quizzed Mehta as to what was the great urgency to scrap the quota and it is based on an interim report, and the state government could have waited for the final report.

The court indicated to pass an interim stay on the decision.

Besides the Karnataka government, Vokkaliga and Lingayat community members led by senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi strongly opposed any interim order in the matter.

"There are competing factors. Unless something is going to happen, it would be highly unfair if stay is granted," Rohatgi said.

"Please allow me to file a reply, these are original proceedings. There was no empirical data as a religion they (Muslims) were included. It is not something extraordinary. Can't it be waited till April 17? There is no appointment or admission process going on. It may be unfair, if stay is granted," Mehta said for on his part.

The state government said Muslims, who are OBCs, are already getting reservations.

The top court issued notice to the state government, seeking its response by Monday on a batch of petitions.

It fixed the matter for hearing on April 18.

The state government said that nothing irreversible will be done based on its order ending the 4 % quota to Muslims and giving 2 % each to Vokkaligas and Lingayats.

The petitioners claimed that Muslims community has been treated as socially and educationally backward in Karnataka since 1921 and there was no empirical data available to show that now they are socially and educationally advanced.

"The identification of the Muslim community as a socially and educationally backward class is approved by this Court in Indra Sawhney v. Union of India, 1992 (Mandal case)," they said.

The exclusion of the Muslim community from the list of backward classes on the ground that reservation in favour of religious sects is not constitutionally permissible is therefore misconceived in law; further it is discriminatory and constitutionally mala fide as other religious communities continue to be in the list of backward classes in Karnataka, they added.

The petitioners also contended that the inclusion of Muslim community in the EWS list is unlawful. 

[Read Order]