A five-judge Constitution Bench led by Chief Justice of India U.U. Lalit said it would give priority to hear two batches of petitions separately challenging the 10% quota for the economically weaker sections (EWS) and an Andhra Pradesh law which grants reservation to Muslims.
The Supreme Court had referred the EWS quota case to the Constitution Bench in August 2020. The petitions in this issue raise a "substantial question of law" as to whether grant of 10% reservation violated the 50% ceiling cap on quota declared by the top court itself. The Constitution Bench has to also answer if "economic backwardness" alone could be the sole criterion for granting quota in government jobs and educational institutions for those who would otherwise have to compete in the general category.
Editorial | Inadequate response: On income criteria to identify EWS quota
