Major Constitutional hurdles in the passage of 10% Reservation

Major Constitutional hurdles in the passage of 10% Reservation for Economically Weaker Upper Caste Amendment Act 124 –

1. The Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court had , in the case of Keshwanand Bharti ( 1973) ruled that the basic features of the Constitution cannot be amended by the Parliament under Article 368. This verdict of the SC still holds good and unchallenged till date.
In light of this verdict the Parliament may face challenge in the SC if any amendments are made to Article 16(4) and 16(1) which respectively deals with vertical and horizontal reservations.

2. The Supreme Court had applied a 50% cap on reservation in government employments, yes of course , with some extraordinary exceptions in the Indira Sawhney case (1990).
The matter of 69% reservation in Tamil Nadu is still under challenge before the honourable Supreme Court.
Considering the above two constitutional and legal constraints , it is very likely that the Supreme Court may declare as unconstitutional the 10% reservation Amendment Act
and invalidate the same.
A great lot of constitutional complexities are involved in this Bill which is pending before the Parliament for a smooth passage to become a law.
Constitutionally and legally speaking it is not going to be a smooth sail for this government.
Just wait and watch.

S.K.Saksena,Advocate,
Ex-Jila Pramila ,
Ajmer .M-9414003192