Raipur (Chhattisgarh): A special leave petition (SLP) has been filed in the Supreme Court against the Raipur High Court's order quashing 58 per cent reservation to SC and ST candidates in government jobs. Supreme Court Chief Justice UU Lalit might take up the issue for hearing on Friday. Petitioner BK Manish, citing the State Public Service results on September 30, urged the Supreme Court to take up the hearing on a priority basis. "We have filed a petition in the Supreme Court citing the urgency. The State Service exam results, conducted by the Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission, will be out on September 30," said the petitioner.
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Besides, tribal community leaders Yogesh Thakur and Vidya Sidar of Chhattisgarh will file two petitions in the Supreme Court. "All formalities for filing petitions have been completed. The petitions will be filed through a lawyer soon, " said Yogesh. The High Court of Bilaspur in its order on September 19, quashed the 58 per cent reservation for SCs and STs in Chhattisgarh government jobs. The High Court had also declared the 58 per cent quota unconstitutional. The court had stated that the quota limit should not exceed 50 per cent.
In 2012, the BJP government in Chhattisgarh headed by Chief Minister Raman Singh had raised up to 58 per cent reservation in educational institutions and government jobs. Besides the reservation of the Scheduled Caste (SCs) was slashed from 16 per cent to 12 per cent, whereas for Scheduled Tribes (STs) the quota was hiked up to 32 per cent while keeping the quota of other backward castes (OBC) at 14 per cent. The High Court of Bilaspur gave its verdict on Monday setting aside the Chhattisgarh government’s 2012 decision citing the Supreme Court order on a 50 per cent ceiling on reservations.
