SC to hear quota issue on May 8

The Supreme Court will on May 8 take up an application moved by the Centre seeking early hearing on the constitutional validity of the law providing 27 per cent quota for OBCs in elite educational institutions.

Attorney General Milon K Banerji on Tuesday mentioned the matter before a bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan stating that the issue was of public interest as overwhelming number of students lose an academic year if an early date was not fixed.

A bench headed by Justice Arijit Pasayat, while staying the implementation of the act, had fixed third week of August to hear arguments on the constitutional validity of the controversial law -- the Central Educational Institution (reservation in admission) Act, 2006.

The mentioning of the application for early hearing was vehemently opposed

by the counsel representing the petitioners on whose application the court had stayed the implementation of the Act.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi submitted that the Centre should have mentioned the application before the bench, which had passed the interim order on March 29 as well as on Monday while refusing the modification application.

He said that since the matter was pending before the other bench, which had fixed a date in August, it should have been mentioned there only. The senior advocate said that since the matter was heard twice by the bench headed by Justice Pasayat, the Centre should have gone before it.

"It is a calculated attempt not to go to that bench," Rohatgi said, adding that the matter should not get special treatment."