The AP High Court quashing the 4.5 per cent reservation for minorities within the 27 per cent quota of the OBC has triggered apprehensions in the Muslims community about the status of the 4 per cent reservation extended to it by the state government.
Wajid Ali Kamil, a senior advocate, said that the high court verdict would have no impact whatsoever on the reservation extended to the Muslims by the state government. "The two issues are different. One is related to the Centre and the other to the state. Therefore, there is no question of any setback and the direction to the central government will not affect the status of reservation in the state."
Mohd Shafeequzaman, special chief secretary to the state government and director general of MCRIHRD, who has dealt with the subject in the past, agreed with Kamil. "The HC verdict does not appear to affect the state allotted quota since the issue is pending before the Supreme Court for the last about two years," he said.
Academic-activist Syed Najiullah said that the Supreme Court is seized of the matter. "Since a lot of parties have impleaded in the case, the community need not be worried at this point of time," he said.
The Supreme Court in 2010, in an interim order, stayed the judgment of AP High Court which had quashed the state order providing 4 per cent reservation to the socially and economically backward Muslims. The state government had extended benefits to 15 groups within the community.
The state government had filed a Special Leave Petition in the apex court on 26 February 2010 against the high court judgement. After hearing the state government arguments, the then SC Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan also referred the case to a five-judge constitutional bench.
Since 2004, the AP government has been trying to provide reservations to the Muslim community, but its attempts have proved futile __ the HC quashed a government order of 2004, and another one in 2005.
'IITs to go ahead with admissions as planned'
This was the first year when IIT-JEE introduced admissions under the minority quota and a student from the city had emerged the topper while as many as 14 students from the state made it to the top 50 on the minority quota list. So when the AP High Court on Monday struck down the 4.5 per cent sub-quota for Muslims and other linguistic minorities from the 27 per cent reserved for OBCs, uncertainty prevailed in the minds of many minority students regarding their admission. Putting them at ease, JEE officials said that they would go ahead with the admissions to the premier institutions as planned unless directed otherwise by the ministry of human resource and development.
Prof Arindama Singh, chairman, JEE, told TOI, "Unless the MHRD passes an order directing us to take a particular action, we will go ahead as if nothing happened."
Thanks to the new provision, the minority quota students stand to bag the choicest of seats in leading IITs like Bombay, Delhi and Madras. The IITs announced reservations under the minority quota this year following efforts in this direction for the past two years by the ministry of human resource development (MHRD). Of the 9,500 seats in the 17 IITs (as per last year's figure), 440 seats will be reserved for minority candidates from this year.
Activists and educationalists said that the HC striking down the quota would jeopardize the future of many students. While OBC activists maintain that there is already a provision available in the 27 per cent for backward sections of minorities, activists blamed the lack of sincerity of politicians for taking up the matter on the right footing and the government's weak counsel for the setback.
Activists said that the only way to counter striking down of the sub-quota was to adopt swift legal recourse. Lawyer Wajid Ali Kamil says, "Remedial measures should be taken to contain the damage. Petitioners must move the Supreme Court and obtain an interim order. Since the apex court is on vacation, petitioners must approach the vacation bench. I am sure that the students will be on tenterhooks once they come to know of the high court order."
Wajid Ali Kamil, a senior advocate, said that the high court verdict would have no impact whatsoever on the reservation extended to the Muslims by the state government. "The two issues are different. One is related to the Centre and the other to the state. Therefore, there is no question of any setback and the direction to the central government will not affect the status of reservation in the state."
Mohd Shafeequzaman, special chief secretary to the state government and director general of MCRIHRD, who has dealt with the subject in the past, agreed with Kamil. "The HC verdict does not appear to affect the state allotted quota since the issue is pending before the Supreme Court for the last about two years," he said.
Academic-activist Syed Najiullah said that the Supreme Court is seized of the matter. "Since a lot of parties have impleaded in the case, the community need not be worried at this point of time," he said.
The Supreme Court in 2010, in an interim order, stayed the judgment of AP High Court which had quashed the state order providing 4 per cent reservation to the socially and economically backward Muslims. The state government had extended benefits to 15 groups within the community.
The state government had filed a Special Leave Petition in the apex court on 26 February 2010 against the high court judgement. After hearing the state government arguments, the then SC Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan also referred the case to a five-judge constitutional bench.
Since 2004, the AP government has been trying to provide reservations to the Muslim community, but its attempts have proved futile __ the HC quashed a government order of 2004, and another one in 2005.
'IITs to go ahead with admissions as planned'
This was the first year when IIT-JEE introduced admissions under the minority quota and a student from the city had emerged the topper while as many as 14 students from the state made it to the top 50 on the minority quota list. So when the AP High Court on Monday struck down the 4.5 per cent sub-quota for Muslims and other linguistic minorities from the 27 per cent reserved for OBCs, uncertainty prevailed in the minds of many minority students regarding their admission. Putting them at ease, JEE officials said that they would go ahead with the admissions to the premier institutions as planned unless directed otherwise by the ministry of human resource and development.
Prof Arindama Singh, chairman, JEE, told TOI, "Unless the MHRD passes an order directing us to take a particular action, we will go ahead as if nothing happened."
Thanks to the new provision, the minority quota students stand to bag the choicest of seats in leading IITs like Bombay, Delhi and Madras. The IITs announced reservations under the minority quota this year following efforts in this direction for the past two years by the ministry of human resource development (MHRD). Of the 9,500 seats in the 17 IITs (as per last year's figure), 440 seats will be reserved for minority candidates from this year.
Activists and educationalists said that the HC striking down the quota would jeopardize the future of many students. While OBC activists maintain that there is already a provision available in the 27 per cent for backward sections of minorities, activists blamed the lack of sincerity of politicians for taking up the matter on the right footing and the government's weak counsel for the setback.
Activists said that the only way to counter striking down of the sub-quota was to adopt swift legal recourse. Lawyer Wajid Ali Kamil says, "Remedial measures should be taken to contain the damage. Petitioners must move the Supreme Court and obtain an interim order. Since the apex court is on vacation, petitioners must approach the vacation bench. I am sure that the students will be on tenterhooks once they come to know of the high court order."
