Madhya Pradesh high court here on Wednesday assigned two weeks’ time to Kamal Nath government for submitting its reply in connection with a petition challenging MP government’s decision to enhance OBC reservation from 14 to 27 per cent, breaching the 50 per cent limit of the quota reservation in the process.
The state government was to submit its reply on Wednesday but the counsels representing the state government sought more time from the HC and the court acceded to the request.
Addl Advocate General Shashank Shekhar, who appeared in the hearing on behalf of the state government, sought two-week time for proving the justification of 27 per cent reservation to the OBC category and the HC obliged him with the permission.
Some medicos recently had challenged the move of enhancing OBC reservation and had sought the HC to issue instructions that the upcoming medical counselling be conducted under existing 14 per cent OBC reservation rule.
Later, some OBC category students had also approached the court with the intervention petition on the matter. During the next hearing in the original case, the second plea would also be heard collectively.
The intervention petition filed later with the HC had told the court that three petitions pertaining to OBC reservation issue are already pending with the Supreme Court of India. The SC in the past had observed that the SC reserves the right to hear pleas pertaining to OBC reservation issue, the petition had said.
Challenging Kamal Nath government’s March 8, decision of enhancing OBC reservation from 14 to 27 per cent, Pre-PG medical students had moved the HC on which the court had stayed the decision ordering the counselling be carried on with 14 per cent OBC rule.
The MP government in the past had claimed that population wise it was justified to offer OBC category 27 per cent reservation, since Tamil Nadu government has already implemented a similar reservation.