The Supreme Court has decided to hear in open court the Centre’s plea seeking a review of its verdict which had struck down caste-based reservation in appointment of faculty members in speciality and super speciality courses in medical colleges, including the prestigious All-India Institute of Medical Sciences.
A five-judge bench headed by Justice H.L. Dattu, which had taken up the Centre’s review plea in chamber, decided that the matter will be heard in open court. Review petitions are usually decided in judges’ chambers and not in open court. The bench also comprises justices S.S. Nijjar, Ranjan Gogoi, M.Y. Eqbal and Vikramjit Sen.
The review petition was filed against the July 18 verdict saying that it is against the mandate of Mandal judgment and that the apex court had also ignored the detailed submissions made by the Centre.
Ruling against reservation in speciality and super speciality courses, a five-judge constitutional bench headed by Chief Justice Altamas Kabir (since retired) had said it cannot take a contrary view expressed in 1992 by a nine-judge bench in the Indra Sawhney case, also known as the Mandal case, that there could be no compromise with merit at the super speciality stage.
The court had pronounced its verdict on the plea of the Faculty Association of AIIMS against a Delhi high court judgment.