New Delhi, March 28: The State of Andhra Pradesh has got a morale boost with the recent interim order of the apex court okaying four per cent reservation for backward class Muslims in the State. As is evident, the final outcome has to await the hearing by a Constitution Bench. However, it is interesting to see what the State of AP averred before the apex court.
It said: “In view of the mandate of the Constitution under Articles 15 (4), 15 (5), and 16 (4) read with Article 46 requires the State to provide all measures for advancement including reservation for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEdBCs) citizens in education and employment, when SEdBCs of Hindu community are having the benefits of such reservation for more than 40 years or even longer and when such reservation is now provided for those SEdBCs of the Muslim community, who had till now wrongly been lost sight of, can it be termed as religion-specific and declared as unconstitutional?’’ “Is it open to learned judges of the majority judgment (of the High Court) to stike down the legislation Andhra Pradesh (Reservation in favour of Socially and Educationally Backward Classes of Muslims Act, 2007), which provides reservation only to SEdBCs of Muslims and not all Muslims and specifically excludes non-backward classes of Muslims, as religion specific?’’ the State of AP questioned.
———-Agencies