SC Rejects Plea Challenging New 5 Per Cent Quota To Gujjars & Others In Rajasthan

In yet another reservation related hullabaloo, the Supreme Court has rejected a plea challenging the 5 per cent quota for the Gujjars and four other castes by the Rajasthan government, reports The Indian Express.

Headed by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi, the bench dismissed an appeal filed by one Arvind Sharma challenging the state government’s move to amend a law to include the Gujjars, Gadia Lohars, Raikas and Gadarias into the socially and economically backward classes, threatening violation of the Constitutional ceiling of fifty per cent quota among the total allocation.

The petitioners argued that the five communities were granted reservation based on their proportion among the population and not because of educational or economic backwardness.

The controversial Bill is passed by the newly formed Congress government, providing 5 per cent quota in government jobs and educational institutes to the above mentioned communities.

Government passed the bill amid protests in the state led by Gujjar leader Kirori Singh Bainsla for reservation for the community.

A petition, filed in the Rajasthan High Court, by Arvind Sharma and Badal Verma, had challenged the reservation alleging that it was beyond the ordinary upper limit of 50 per cent and was already denied by the Rajasthan High Court.