NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned the hearing on a plea challenging the Karnataka government’s decision to scrap 4 per cent OBC reservation for Muslims to July after an assurance given by the state government not to implement the decision till next date of hearing.
A bench headed by Justices K M Joseph and also comprising Justice B V Nagarathna adjourned the hearing for July 25. The Karnataka government assured again that no admissions or appointments will take place on the basis of the government order scrapping 4 per cent OBC reservation for Muslims till the next date of hearing.
During the hearing, the court has taken note of statements made by some political leaders on the issue and remarked such statements are not appropriate and not be made by public functionaries when the matter is in court. The court’s remark came when Senior Advocate Dushyant Dave, appearing for the petitioner, apprised the court of the statement given by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Meanwhile, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta sought adjournment on the ground that he is before the Constitution Bench.
Earlier, the Karnataka government filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court defending its decision to scrap 4 per cent OBC reservation for Muslims in the state. The state government also submitted that the provision of reservation on the basis of religion will also be contrary to the concept of secularism.
The Karnataka government has filed the affidavit in response to various petitions challenging its decision to scrap 4 per cent OBC reservation for Muslims in the state. In the affidavit, the Karnataka government said the petitioners herein have sought to give a colour to the exercise in question, which is completely baseless.
The Karnataka government submitted that petitioners have directly approached the top court under Article 32 of the Constitution, without approaching the Karnataka High Court and therefore urged the top court to dismiss the petition on this ground alone. It said that the Muslim community suffers no prejudice as they can avail the benefit of EWS reservation which is 10 per cent.
The Karnataka government earlier this year scrapped the 4 per cent OBC reservation for Muslims and distributed it to the two dominant communities, Veerashaiva-Lingayats and Vokkaligas. The government also decided to move OBC Muslims to the 10 per cent Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category. (ANI)