Supreme Court Dismisses Petitions Seeking Review Of Its 10 Per Cent EWS Quota Ruling

The Supreme Court has rejected review petitions against its 7 November 2022 judgement upholding the 103rd Constitution Amendment, which introduced 10 per cent reservation for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) among the unreserved categories in admissions and government jobs.

On 9 May, a five-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud dismissed the review petitions after examining them, stating that no error was apparent on the record.

The bench determined that there was no case for review under Order XLVII Rule 1 of the Supreme Court Rules 2013.

On 7 November last year, the Supreme Court upheld the 10 per cent quota with a 3:2 majority.

Justices Dinesh Maheshwari, Bela M Trivedi, and J B Pardiwala held that the amendment does not violate the Constitution's basic structure, while then chief justice U U Lalit and Justice S Ravindra Bhat dissented.

However, the minority view held that the new EWS quota contradicts the essence of equal opportunity and violates the equality code.

Justices Trivedi and Pardiwala emphasised the need to re-examine and adjust the concept of reservation to fit the current situation, as it was originally only meant to be temporary.

Justice Pardiwala added that reservation “should not be allowed to become a vested interest."

A review of the apex court ruling was sought by way of several petitions, including one by Tamil Nadu's ruling DMK party.