Reservation for EWS

ALMOST four years after the enactment of the Constitution (103rd Amendment) Act, which provides for 10 per cent reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in admissions and government jobs within the general category, the Supreme Court has upheld the validity of this legislation. In a 3:2 verdict, the court has observed that the Act does not violate essential features of the Constitution. An economic criterion for giving reservation does make sense; it’s an onerous task for students and job aspirants to pursue their goals in the face of miserable financial conditions. The judgment is expected to benefit millions of EWS families whose gross annual income is below Rs 8 lakh.

The split verdict, however, has laid bare lack of unanimity among the Bench’s judges on the contentious issue. Justice S Ravindra Bhat has observed: ‘Reservation on economic criterion is per se not violative… (but) by excluding the poor among SC/ST/OBC from economically backward classes, the amendment practises constitutionally prohibited forms of discrimination. The exclusion neglects this principle and strikes at the heart of the equality code.’ Outgoing CJI UU Lalit has concurred with Justice Bhat’s view ‘in its entirety’. Though Justice Pardiwala has upheld the EWS amendment, he has made it clear that ‘reservation is not an end, it is a means; it should not be allowed to become a vested interest.’

The basic purpose of reservation is to reduce inequality and help out disadvantaged groups. The EWS quota also has a key role to play in pulling people out of poverty, even as there will undoubtedly be fewer opportunities now for general-category candidates who don’t belong to EWS. The onus is on the lawmakers to extend the economic criterion to reservation in SC/ST/OBC categories. It’s lamentable that families which are no longer economically backward continue to enjoy the fruits of reservation, generation after generation. It is imperative to review quotas from time to time to assess whether they are actually benefiting the needy or not. Uplifting the underprivileged calls for a multi-pronged strategy: the importance of short-term and long-term welfare schemes cannot be overestimated. Putting all the eggs in the reservation basket should not be the way forward.