Proceedings in the writ petitions challenging the quota in Bombay, Delhi and Calcutta high courts have been stayed. Notices have been issued to the parties there on the move to transfer all such petitions to the Supreme Court.
The court told the authorities to make it clear to the candidates that their admissions would be subject to the ultimate outcome of the petitions.
Amidst heated arguments for and against the high court order, the Chief Justice asked: "Can Calcutta high court sit in judgement over the order of the Supreme Court?"
The judge asserted that it had upheld the validity of the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006 providing for the quota by a unanimous judgment on April 10. The court has clarified that the "creamy layer" should not get the benefit.
An array of senior counsel like K K Venugopal and Harish Salve argued that graduates have been excluded from the reservation benefit. They relied upon the list issued by the central government in 1993 following the Mandal judgment in which certain persons have been denied the reservation benefit.
The Chief Justice pointed out that the list mentioned individuals who have been kept out; not the communities. The
