New Delhi, May 29
The Government today said it would move the Supreme Court as soon as possible to seek review of the Andhra Pradesh High Court pronouncement quashing the Union Cabinet’s decision to approve 4.5 per cent sub-quota for the minority Other Backward Classes (OBCs) within the 27 per cent reservation available to OBCs in central government jobs and educational institutions.

The move is expected next week after Attorney General of India Ghoolam Vahanvati returns from Geneva, where he is currently representing the country at the ongoing Universal Periodic Review of Human Rights being conducted by the UN Human Rights Commission.

“Once the Attorney General returns, we will consult him and file a special review petition in the Supreme Court against the pronouncement of the high court order,” Law Minister Salman Khurshid today said.

The Law Minister picked holes in the high court judgment saying it had done enough analysis of the landmark Indira Sawhney judgment, where the Supreme Court had clarified the basis for minority sub-quota within the larger quota.

“We will present our case to the Supreme Court where the same matter is pending for the consideration of a Constitution Bench. The Supreme Court was given to this country because high courts often give you judgments that are not sustainable,” Khurshid said.

The Andhra High Court recently struck down the Government’s “sub-quota” office memorandum saying no religion-based reservation was permissible in the Constitution. The move has put a question mark on the fate of over 300 Muslim students who qualified for the IITs under the sub-quota this year. Khursid said they were all free to go to court.

Meanwhile, he defended the Government saying the said 4.5 per cent sub-quota had not been granted on the basis of religion alone and was also meant for linguistic minorities. Though the Andhra High Court has said the issue of relevance of this special concession for minorities be referred to the National Commission for Backward Classes, the Government ruled it out saying it had granted the concession to minorities belonging to the OBCs mentioned in the Mandal Commission report.