Quota bill

“Such an Amendment is hence, vulnerable and ought to be struck down as it merely negates a binding judgement,” says the PIL.

The petition also argues that the amendment that gives quota benefits in addition to the existing reservations to members of the Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) communities, breaches a 50% cap fixed by the top court in the M Nagaraj case in 2006.

The government has said that the amendment will withstand legal scrutiny. Speaking in the Lok Sabha during a debate on the bill on Tuesday, finance minister Arun Jaitley said “the apex court had stated that the rule of 50% [cap on reservations] applies only to reservation for backward classes... This bill is for social and economic justice.”

The petition filed on Thursday further says that confining the 10% quota to the “general” category negates the equality code, which is one of the basic tenets of the Constitution.

The fourth ground on which the petitioner has assailed the amendment is that it imposes reservation in private unaided educational institutions, which, it says, has been clearly barred by the top court through two judgments. The amendment, which was passed by Parliament on Wednesday, adds new clauses to Article 15 — which prohibits discrimination on the ground of religion, race, caste, sex and place of birth — and Article 16 — which provides equal opportunity in matters of public employment.