[BREAKING] Challenge to EWS quota: Supreme Court verdict on Monday

The Supreme Court will deliver its verdict on Monday in the batch of petitions challenging the Constitutional validity of 103rd Constitutional Amendment which grants 10 percent reservation to Economically Weaker Section (EWS) among the forward castes..The judgment will be delivered by a Constitution Bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) UU Lalit and Justices Dinesh Maheshwari, S Ravindra Bhat, Bela M Trivedi and JB Pardiwala.As per the causelist on the apex court's website, there are two separate judgments - one by CJI Lalit and the other by Justice Bhat..The Supreme Court had on September 27 concluded hearing the batch of pleas challenging the validity of the amendment.The top court's decision in the matter will come in a batch of petitions filed by NGOs Janhit Abhiyan and Youth for Equality, among others, challenging the amendment on the ground that economic classification cannot be the sole basis for reservation.The Amendment Act provides for reservation of 10 percent seats in public and private educational institutions, and in public employment, for the “economically weaker sections” of citizens other than Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and socially and educationally backward classes.During the hearing, the petitioners contended that the amendment violates the basic structure of the Constitution and breaches the overall 50 per cent ceiling of reservation as mandated by the dictum in the Indra Sawhney case.The reservation of 10 per cent seats for EWS other than SC/ST/OBCs is arbitrary and excessive, they stated.Attorney General for India KK Venugopal had framed the constitutional questions of law for consideration as under:- Whether the 103rd Constitution Amendment can be said to breach the basic structure of the Constitution by permitting the State to make special provisions, including reservation, based on economic criteria?- Whether the 103rd Constitution Amendment can be said to breach the basic structure of the Constitution by permitting the State to make special provisions in relation to admission to private unaided institutions?- Whether the 103rd Constitution Amendment can be said to breach the basic structure of the Constitution in excluding the SEBCs/OBCs/SCs/STs from the scope of EWS reservation?Follow our day-wise coverage of earlier hearings:Day 1Day 2Day 3Day 4Day 5Day 6Day 7