CHENNAI: Madras High Court Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari, on Thursday, observed that the Constitution may have to be rewritten if reservation for medical admission was given on the basis of the institution of study.
He made the observations during arguments on a batch of petitions challenging the provision of 7.5% quota for government school students in undergraduate courses in medicine and also petitions seeking extension of the benefit to students of government-aided schools.
Referring to the quota as preference and not a reservation, the CJ asked how the criteria of the government can be imported for preference, it is not reservation but preference. He went on to say the Constitution may have to be rewritten to provide reservation based on the institution of study.
However, senior counsel Kapil Sibal, representing TN government, clarified that the quota was not a preference but a horizontal reservation provided by taking into account the students’ economic backwardness. He said the reservation was introduced due to the structural instability and the economic conditions of the students.
Appearing for the petitioners challenging the quota, senior counsel Sriram Panchu said the provision of 7.5% separate quota appears to cut across the horizontal. By virtue of this, the 31% open category (61% goes to reservation) has now been further reduced by 7.5%. More meritorious students are not able to get admission and the open category gets reduced to 23.5%, he stated. The bench posted the matter to March 17.