[Reader-list] Vacant OBC seats to go to General Category: SC

[Aditya Raj Kaul]

 Vacant OBC seats to go to General Category: SC
    New Delhi, Sep 15 (PTI) The Supreme Court today said that seats
remaining vacant after the implementation of 27 per cent OBC quota in
central educational institutions like IITs and IIMs will go to general
category candidates and it would be "desirable" not to have huge difference
in cut-off marks.

A five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan,
which on April 10 had upheld the validity of the controversial law providing
quota, was unanimous that there was no confusion on the issue as the three
judges had clearly stated that no seats would go vacant.

The anti-quota petitioners drew the attention of the bench that even after
the implementation of the law -- the Central Educational Institution
(Reservation in admission) -- seats have remained vacant and there was a
confusion over it.

Senior advocate K K Venugopal referred to the two judgements, one written by
Justices Arijit Pasayat and C K Thakker and another by Justice Dalveer
Bhandari, to buttress the stand that the seats added in the 27 per cent OBC
quota which remained vacant after implementation of the Act cannot go waste.

"What is the confusion. It was clarified in the judgement itself that the
seats remaining vacant will go to the General Category," Justice Pasayat
said.

"Both the judgements clearly said that such vacant seats will go to the
general category," added Justice Bhandari.

At the outset when Venugopal said there was a need for clarification on the
aspect of vacant seats, Justice Pasayat said, "This (wasting of seats)
cannot be allowed. It will go back to the general category". PTI