New Delhi, Apr 10: The Supreme Court today upheld the Government’s decision of 27 per cent quota for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in higher educational institutions, while pronouncing its verdict on the constitutional validity of the controversial law.

The apex court decided that the Central Government was legally right to provide OBC quotas in higher educational institutions like the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS).

The apex court, however, asked the Government to exclude the creamy layer from the reservation quota.

A five member constitutional bench headed by the Chief Justice K. G. Balakrishnan asked the Government to draw parameters to identify the creamy layer.

The court also asked the Government to include children of MPs and MLAs in the creamy layer, thereby excluding them from the quota.

The new policy, if implemented, would take the overall reservation in the Government-funded higher education institutions from the current 22.5 (for SC and ST students) to 49.5 per cent.

The apex court had stayed the implementation of quotas last year, asking the government to clarify the criteria under which reservation should be granted.

On November 1, 2007, the apex court had reserved its judgment after a hearing that lasted 25 days on petitions challenging the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006.

The petitions had said that the creamy layer should not get reservation benefits and that the OBC quota would divide society. The key objection in the case was that the Government had based the quota on a 1931 survey.

Besides the Chief Justice, other members on the Bench included, Justice Arijit Pasayat, Justice C. K. Thakker, Justice R. V. Raveendran and Justice Dalveer Bhandari.

The apex court in its March 29, 2007 interim order had stayed the implementation of the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006, providing 27 per cent quota for OBC. (ANI)