From Our Bureau
NEW DELHI: A 5-judge Constitution Bench is all set to pronounce the judgment on Monday on the constitutional validity of 10% economically weaker sections (EWS) quota in government services and higher education that was reserved by it on September 27 after 7 days of marathon hearing since it is the last working day of Chief Justice of India Uday Umesh Lalit who headed the Bench.
If the judgment on the EWS quota created through the 103rd Constitution Amendment in January 2019 brought by the government for the forwards who do not enjoy any reservation is not pronounced, a de novo hearing will take place. There will be two judgments – one by Chief Justice and another by Justice S. Ravindra Bhat. Whether their judgments are concurring or there will be a dissenting judgment will only be known when they are pronounced on November 7.
Three other judges on the Bench were Justices Dinesh Maheshwari, Bela M Trivedi and J D Pardiwala. On the anvil before them were 33 petitions, led by NGO Janhit Abhiyan. Then Attorney General K K Venugopal and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued in support of the amendment to create a separate EWS quota, asserting that it does not overlap the reservation to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
The hearing saw Dr. G. Mohan Gopal – who had headed the National Judicial Academy from 2006 to 2011 and several other law-related institutions – senior advocatea Shekhar Naphade, Salman Khurshid, Meenakshi Arora, Gopal Sankaranarayanan, Dr. Ravi Verma Kumar, Sanjay Parikh, Mahesh Jethamalani, and Jayanth Muth Raj.
The ceremonial bench will assemble on Monday at 2 PM, comprising outgoing CJI Lalit, CJI-designate D Y Chandrachud and Justice Bela M Trivedi, and listed before it are 15 cases. Earlier, CJI Lalit will sit with Justice Trivedi to hear 45 cases before adjourning for the ceremonial sitting at 2 PM.
The ceremonial sitting would have taken place on Tuesday, but for the holiday on account of the Guru Nanak’s birth anniversary that day.
President Droupadi Murmu will administer oath to Justice Chandrachud as the CJI on Wednesday, November 9.
