EWS quota claims to be for poorest of poor, but denies most deprived: Supreme Court
The HinduThe Supreme Court on Thursday questioned the logic behind a quota for ‘economically weaker sections’ which claims to cater to the “poorest of the poor” but leaves out deprived communities who have suffered denial for centuries. So there is a large section of them who are kept out because the share of the pie is only that much… Is it a good idea for an egalitarian Constitution to say ‘yes, you are the poorest of the poor but sorry we have exhausted your quota!’ We will give this to neither the ST, SC or OBC or constitutionally backward communities but to the other class,” Justice S. Ravindra Bhat, one of the judges on the Constitution Bench led by Chief Justice U.U. He said the 103rd Amendment had strengthened the Basic Structure of the Constitution by giving “economic justice” to the poorest of the poor. “Instead consider it as 50% quota with separate classification for open category candidates who are poor,” Mr. Mehta reasoned.