The Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court’s five Judges has upheld the majority of the 103rd Constitutional Amendment by a 3:2 majority, which introduced 10% reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in education and public employment. On Monday Supreme Court makes this Judgement.

Three Justices including (Bela Trivedi, Dinesh Maheshwari, and JB Pardiwala) upheld the 103rd Constitutional Amendment, Justice S Ravindra Bhat passed a dissenting judgment calling the law discriminatory. Chief Justice of India Uday Umesh Lalit also concurred with the minority view of Justice Ravindra Bhat.

Justice Bela Trivedi in her Judgement said that “At the end of 75 years of Independence, we need to revisit the system of reservation in the larger interests of the society. Legislature understands the needs of people and it is aware of the economic exclusion of people from the reservation”. 

Justice Dinesh Maheshwari said, “Reservation structured singularly on economic criteria doesnot violate the basic structure of the Constitution”.

On the other hand, Justice Ravindra Bhat said that “Reservations have been conceived and quotas, only to offset fundamental, deep-rooted generations of wrongs perpetrated on entire communities and castes. Reservation is designed as a powerful tool to enable equal access and equal opportunity”.

Chief Justice UU Lalit while pronouncing his verdict in the last said ” I have concurred with the view taken by Justice Bhat. The decision stands at  3:2″.

The 103rd constitutional amendment was cleared by both houses of parliament in January 2019 and was instantly challanged in the Suprenme Court.