New Delhi: The Supreme Court will decide the fate of government's quota policy on Wednesday, which proposes 27.5 per cent reservation to OBCs in educational institutions starting from academic session 2007-2008.
Court's hearing assumes significance in view of the forthcoming Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. Petitioners, including the Resident Doctors' Welfare Association, have been opposing the reservation policy slamming it as ''vote-bank'' politics.
The Union Government in an affidavit has opposed even the exclusion of creamy layer from the benefits of reservation and justified its caste-based reservation policy, saying such a policy is a must to uplift the economically, educationally and socially backward sections of society who had been denied equal opportunities due to caste-based discrimination.
The apex court has, however, directed the government to place before it the data related to total percentage of different castes, which forms the foundation of the reservation policy adopted by the government.
The court had also directed the government to explain whether caste-based reservations will not divide the nation along caste lines.
If the court decides to provide interim relief to the petitioners, including Resident Doctors Welfare Associations opposing the caste-based reservation policy, then the interim order may lead to another round of confrontation between the judiciary and the government.
With inputs from PTI
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