Jabalpur, Apr 2 All petitions related to the 27 percent reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in Madhya Pradesh will be heard regularly for three days starting April 27, the High Court said on Thursday.
A division bench of Chief Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Justice Vinay Saraf directed all parties to submit documents related to the petitions three days before the hearing.
The division bench also directed the lawyers of all parties to be present during the hearing.
Petitions have been filed in the High Court both for and against the OBC quota.
The HC, during the preliminary hearing of some petitions, had stayed 27 percent quota. The state government and other parties then filed Special Leave Petitions (SLPs) in the Supreme Court, which sent them back to the high court for hearing.
Senior advocate Aditya Sanghi, representing the petitions filed against the reservation, informed the division bench on Thursday that the Supreme Court had issued instructions that the petitions be decided within three months, even though one and a half months had already passed.
Senior advocate Rameshwar Singh, representing the state government, said the apex court had recalled two SLPs. These petitions were related to Chhattisgarh but mistakenly sent to the Madhya Pradesh High Court, he said.
Following the consent of Additional Solicitor General K M Nataraj and Advocate General Prashant Singh, the division bench directed that regular hearings be held from 12:30 pm for three days, beginning April 27.
The period of regular hearings could be extended if necessary, the court said.
The petitions against the reservation argue that the Supreme Court has clearly stated in the Indira Sawhney and Maratha reservation cases that the total reservation should not exceed 50 percent.
The petitions in favour of the OBC quota contend that the reservation should be in proportion to the community's population.
