Split judgement on EWS Reservation

The Union government established a provision in January 2019 to grant the general category's economically
disadvantaged members a 10% reserve. The Supreme Court received more than 40 petitions against this central
government decision, and on September 27, 2022, it withheld judgement after further hearings. A five-judge panel of the
SC made its judgement yesterday, with three judges voting in favour of the reserve and two judges voting against the
10% EWS reservation quota. Reservations are generally made to lessen inequality and assist marginalised populations.
Even though there will likely be less possibilities today for general-category candidates who do not belong to EWS, the
EWS quota also has a crucial role to play in helping people escape poverty.
In a 3:2 decision, the five-judge constitution bench, which was comprised of Chief Justice UU Lalit and Justices
Dinesh Maheshwari, S Ravindra Bhat, Bela M Trivedi, and JB Pardiwala, ruled that the provisions of the relevant
amendment are not unconstitutional. The quota for admission to public sector educational institutions and employment
in government is now available to the beneficiaries.
It is up to the legislators to include the economic criterion in reservations for SC/ST/OBC groups. It is regrettable
that families who are no longer struggling financially continue to reap the benefits of reservations for generations.
Quotas must be periodically reviewed to determine whether they are genuinely helping those in need or not. A
multifaceted approach is necessary for uplifting the underprivileged: It is impossible to overstate the value of both short-
term and long-term welfare programmes, so relying just on reservations is not the best course of action.
The employment of the “language of exclusion” in the amendment, according to the Chief Justice UU Lalit and
Justice Ravindra Bhat's dissenting opinion, undermines the Constitution's fundamental principles. Rahul argued that the
amendment was unlawful and bemoaned his lack of ability to win the case. He said, “If poverty is deemed a requirement
for reservation, the Backward Classes cannot be excluded. Most of the poorest people are members of oppressed
classes. Why then are they denied a reservation because of economic factors?
A 10% reservation quota is now being granted in public sector educational institutions and government positions for
members of the general category of Economically Weaker Sections as a result of the Modi government's implementation of the EWS
Quota in 2019. It was passed to assist the underprivileged who weren't protected by the SC, ST, and OBC reservation legislation.