The Supreme Court will examine the constitutional validity of the 10 percent quota for EWS.

The Supreme Court announced on Tuesday that it would first consider whether the Centre’s decision to give EWS applicants and employees a 10% reservation in admissions and jobs was constitutionally valid before hearing appeals against a high court decision that struck down a local law granting a quota to Muslims. The Constitutional Court’s five-judge panel, which is led by Chief Justice Uday Umesh Lalit and includes Justices Dinesh Maheshwari, S Ravindra Bhat, Bela M Trivedi, and J. B. Pardiwala, announced that it would make decisions on procedural issues and other details on September 6 and begin hearing the arguments on September 13.

Through the 103rd Constitutional Amendment Act of 2019, the Centre established the provision for EWS reservations in admissions and public services. The Andhra Pradesh High Court’s decision to invalidate the local statute awarding quotas to Muslims will also be the subject of challenges by the state government and other parties before the Supreme Court. The Andhra Pradesh Reservation of Seats in the Educational Institutions and of Appointments/Posts in the Public Services under the State to Muslim Community Act, 2005, were both ruled to be unconstitutional and in violation of Articles 15(4) and 16(4) (State’s power to grant quota to socially and educationally backward classes) of the Constitution by a five-judge bench of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh.

Nineteen petitions, including the state government’s appeal, have been filed in opposition to the high court decision nullifying the Muslim hiring and admissions quota in the state. The Constitution bench stated that because the issues overlap, it will first consider the arguments regarding the EWS quota before considering the problems regarding Muslim reservation statute. Before order to ensure the efficient handling of petitions, including the filing of common compilations of documents in the supreme court, it asked four attorneys, Shadan Farasat, Nachiketa Joshi, Mahfooz Nazki, and Kanu Agarwal, to serve as nodal advocates.