Hyderabad, India - In a significant development a five-member bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court on Monday struck down an ordinance of the State Government providing five per cent reservation to Muslims.
The five-member bench of the Court headed by Chief Justice Bilal Nazki declared the ordinance of the State Government for five per cent reservation to Muslims in Government jobs and educational institutions as “unconstitutional”.
The Muslim community here following this development asked its counsellor to take the matter to Supreme Court.
“The Government of Andhra Pradesh has failed two times in protecting the interests of Muslims. Though whatever may be its intentions, the result is to put the blame on the Court. It will have hard repercussions. I am afraid, I am informed that the entire Muslim community is having a meeting in a day or two, and they are all asking me to take the matter to the Supreme Court,” said S Ramachandra Rao, counsellor for the All India Majlis- e- Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM).
Ravi Chand, counsellor for the petitioner said, that the Court had found that the Backward Commission had failed to provide adequate materials on the issue on the basis of which the Government decided against the five per cent reservation for Muslims.
“The High Court today declared that the entire Act providing five per cent reservation for Muslim community was un-Constitutional. They said it was religion- oriented. They called it a camouflage attempt by the State to provide reservation on the basis of religion. They went on to hold as a majority view, that a community could not get reservation on the basis of religion. In any event, they also held that the Backward Commission did not have sufficient material, much less the methodology transparent,” said Ravi Chand.
The leaders representing the Muslim community have now decided to the move the Supreme Court against the judgement.
“The judgement given by the High Court denying reservation to us is a bad news. We will appeal against it in the Supreme Court. We are fighting for the rights of the Muslims. Moreover, the secularism connected with us will also strengthen. We will take it to the Supreme Court and to the different corners of the country,” said Asaduddin Owaisi, MIM leader and MP.
However, in a major relief to Muslim students already admitted into professional courses under the quota, the Court ruled that they could continue.