Supreme Court Weekly Scoop : July 2020 Part IV

1. Students vs UGC: ‘Heavens Will Not Fall If Exams Are Cancelled’, Submits Dr. Singhvi; SC To Hear On August 10[Praneeth K & Ors. V. UGC & Ors., Batch pleas]

The Supreme Court on Friday adjourned till August 10 the hearing on a batch of petitions challenging the UGC direction to hold final year exams by September 30.

JUSTICE ASHOK BHUSHAN the head of the bench had given voice that all the parties should complete pleadings at time. Affidavits should be completed by the date of 7th August, and the remaining rejoinders should proceed after 7th of August.

Solicitor General, Tushar Mehta, stated that the students should continue there preparation and should not be in the fancy of the court’s stay notification.

“Nobody should be under the impression that because this matter is pending here, SC has stayed the exams. Students should continue to prepare,” the SG said.

2. [Maratha Reservations] SC Refuses To Interfere In PG Admissions, Maharashtra Govt. Undertakes That No Recruitments Will Be Conducted Till Sept-15 [Jaishri Laxmanrao Patil v. Chief Minister, Maharashtra]

The Maratha community as it was backward socially and educationally so socially & educationally backward classes act will be applied under medical courses on September 1.

Admissions to undergraduate medical courses without applying reservation as per the impugned legislation will be considered at the next date of hearing”

A bench of Justices L. Nageswara Rao, Hemant Gupta & S. Ravindra Bhatadjourned the plea(s) challenging a 2019 Bombay High Court judgment which upheld the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) Act 2019 to extend reservations to the Maratha community, The key issue in the case pertains to whether the State has the power to exceed 50 percent reservation, already set by the Indira Sawhney Judgement as with the percentage of reservation for seats belonging to the Maratha Community standing at 12%, the seats in the State now stand at 70% reservation.

“As the State Government undertakes not to make any regular appointments in terms of the GR dated 04.05.2020 till 15.09.2020, the matters can be listed for hearing after four weeks by which time the situation caused due to the Pandemic may improve”.

3. [Central Vista Project] SC Allows Filing Of Writ Petition Against Environmental Clearance Granted To

New Parliament Building; Expands Scope Of Hearing[Rajeev Suri V. Union of India]

A bench headed by Justice A M Khanwilkar told Senior Advocate Shyam Divan that his clients will be given a week’s time to file the writ petition, thereby expanding the scope of the hearing to include the issue of Environmental Clearances granted on June 17. This will be in addition to the issue surrounding the legality of the change in land use which is already under the consideration of the top court through two petitions pending before it. The Centre has to file a reply to the plea within a week of receiving the same. The matter will be considered next on August 17. On Wednesday, a bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar, Dinesh Maheshwari & Sanjiv Khanna took up pleas filed by Rajeev Suri and Lt Col (retd) Anuj Srivastava against the Central Vista redevelopment project.

4. SC Grants 3 More Weeks To States/UTs For Providing Requisite Details Of Migrant Workers Back To Native Places [In Re: Problems & Miseries of Migrant Workers]

The Supreme Court on Friday granted three more weeks to States/Union Territories to bring on record details of migrants workers back to their native places vis-à-vis their skill, earlier place, and nature of employment in compliance with its June 9 order. None of the States/Union Territories have filed an affidavit giving details of the compliance of the aforesaid direction. The States are required to bring on record the mode and manner in which records of migrant laborers who have reached their native places are being maintained with their skill, nature of employment, and other details. Let States/Union Territories may also file affidavits in the above regard within a period of three weeks.” – Supreme Court. A bench led by Justice Ashok Bhushan took note of the non-compliance of states and UTs with directions laid down in its June 9 order which contemplated with respect to registration of workers in terms of enactments, namely, Inter-state Migrant workmen (Regulations of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979 Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996 & Unorganized Workers’ Social Security Act, 2008.

5. 2018 Karnataka Law Granting Reservation In Promotion For SC-ST Govt. Employees Constitutionally Valid: SC Dismisses Review Petitions [BK Pavitra & Ors. V. Union of India & Ors.]

The Supreme Court has dismissed Review Petitions filed against its judgment (BK Pavitra vs. Union of India) that upheld the Constitutional validity of the Karnataka Extension of Consequential Seniority to Government Servants Promoted on the Basis of Reservation (to the Posts in the Civil Services of the State) Act 2018.

Background

The Karnataka Determination of Seniority of the Government Servants Promoted on the Basis of the Reservation (to the Posts in the Civil Services of the State) Act 2002 was held to be unconstitutional [in BK Pavitra 1] on the ground that an exercise for determining ‘inadequacy of representation’, ‘backwardness’ and the impact on ‘overall efficiency’ had not preceded the enactment of the law.