New Delhi:
The Supreme Court today declined to stay the Centre's decision to grant reservations in government jobs and educational institutions to the Jat community.
The Top Court expressed its satisfaction with the documents submitted by the Centre in support of its decision to bring the Jats in the OBC list, and posted the matter for further hearing on May 1.
"Prime facie, we are satisfied with the material submitted by the government for providing reservations to Jats," Chief Justice P Sathasivam said.
The Supreme Court had on April 1 directed the Centre to turn over all the files pertaining to its decision to extend OBC quota to the Jats in seven states - Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Bihar.
In its petition, OBC Reservation Raksha Samiti had appealed to the Supreme Court to quash the Jat quota announced by the Centre just before the polls, and also argued that it was contrary to the recommendation of the National Commission for Backward Classes.
A few Jat organisations had, in the interregnum, filed a caveat, contending that the Court should hear them also before passing any orders.
Quota for Jats is seen as the Congress' attempt to improve its poll prospects in nine states where the community has a strong presence - Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Uttarakhand and Bihar. Congress leaders have assessed that over eight crore Jats in these states can be the deciding factor in at least 30 Lok Sabha constituencies.
The National Commission for Backward Classes had opposed a quota for Jats on grounds that the community cannot be classified as "backward" and such a move would deprive more deserving groups of central benefits. The proposal was still cleared at a special cabinet meeting on March 2 and notified on March 4, just a day before the announcement of Lok Sabha polls brought a model code of conduct into effect.