Feb. 8: The Andhra Pradesh high court, in a majority decision, on Monday struck down as unsustainable the legislation providing four per cent reservation in educational institutions and government jobs to backward groups among Muslims. A seven-member bench headed by Chief Justice Anil R. Dave was divided 5-2 and provided three different decisions while striking down the legislation.

Justice Dave, while pronouncing the verdict on his behalf and on behalf of Justice A. Gopal Reddy, Justice V. Eswaraiah and Justice Goda Raghuram, opined that the legislation failed to define the expressions “Muslim” and “other Muslim groups”. It held the act as a violation of Articles 14, 15(1) and 16 (2) of the Constitution.The court faulted the surveys relied upon by the Backward Classes Commission to enumerate backwardness among Muslims. The commission’s own survey was “not sufficient”, the court said.The judges said, “In our opinion, the 2007 Act is religion-specific and potentially encourages religious conversion, and is thus unsustainable.”The AP Assembly had passed the AP Reservations in Favour of Socially and Educationally Backward Classes of Muslims Act in 2007. It later issued Government Orders Ms Nos 23 and 231 to provide reservations for Muslim groups. All these were quashed.A third GO, Ms No. 3, was issued to exclude the  creamy layer. The court did not deal with this GO.Justice Meena Kumari partly agreed with the decision of the Chief Justice, but rendered her verdict separately. She declared that the government has the power to refer to the Backward Classes Commission for identifying backward classes to provide reservation to socially and educationally backward classes.Justice B. Prakash Rao and Justice D.S.R. Varma differed totally with the majority opinion. Justice Varma said he would pass orders soon by citing reasons for dismissal of the writs filed against the act. Justice Prakash Rao said he would confine himself to answering the references made by the five-member bench which had dealt earlier with the same petition.The government decided it would appeal the order in the Supreme Court. Chief minister K. Rosaiah directed the state advocate-general, Mr D.S.R. Murthy, to file a special leave petition in the Supreme Court challenging the verdict.“The state government is committed to providing four per cent reservation to backward class Muslims in the state,” Mr Rosaiah said in a statement. This is the third setback for the state government on the issue. In 2004, the AP high court had struck down a government order providing five per cent reservation for Muslims.In 2005, the government issued Ordinance 13 and subsequently enacted a bill. These were also struck down by the AP high court. The government moved an SLP against the verdict in the Supreme Court which is pending.The act struck down on Monday was enacted in 2007. This act had been stayed by the high court and the Supreme Court suspended the stay on an appeal by the state government.In the main, the court faulted the Backward Classes Commission for relying on surveys which were unscientific and irrational and not carried out for the purpose of enumerating backwardness among Muslims.The Backward Classes Commission carried out its own survey but the court found that it was “not sufficient” and that the report is “not based on real facts, data or analysis and is without proper survey”. The commission had limited its survey to six districts within three days.The court also pointed out that “the legislature ought to have taken care, while making the enactment, to define the word ‘Muslim’ and the phrase ‘other Muslim groups’ and state clearly as to who actually falls within these definitions, for enjoying the benefits under the act.”The court was dealing with a petition filed by an advocate, Mr Muralidhar Rao, and a student, Ms Tejasri. Another advocate, Mr K. Kondala Rao, and several other individuals and organisations filed petitions challenging and in favour of the legislation.

Age Correspondent Hyderabad