SC restored 4% quota for Muslims in Andhra

The Supreme Court on Thursday restored the Andhra Pradesh law providing 4% exclusive quota in jobs and educational institutions for “backward” groups among Muslims, in a development that can give a fillip to the demand for implementation of Ranganath Mishra Commission's recommendations for 15% quota for minorities. The interim order passed by SC revived the AP law which was struck down as unconstitutional by a 7-judge bench of the high court on the ground that it violated the constitutional provision forbidding faith-based quota. A bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and comprising Justices J M Panchal and B S Chauhan has left it for a 5-judge Constitution Bench to decide the legality of the law which has taken the total quantum of all kinds of quotas to 49% in the state. The Constitution Bench is to start the scrutiny in the second week of August. The court, however, stayed implementation of a provision of the law which was seen as aimed at putting the entire Muslim community, except 10 groups, under the “backward” category entitled to reservations in jobs and admissions to schools and colleges.