The state government said it will challenge the High Court decision.
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The HC stayed the order for two weeks on the request of the state government pleader so that they can approach Supreme Court.
The division bench of chief justice R Subhash Reddy and justice VM Pancholi held that the ordinance is unconstitutional and illegal as per the guidelines of Supreme Court. The Gujarat government had announced the quota to pacify the Patidar agitation and effected it immediately. However, Patidar quota leader Hardik Patel welcomed the order and said their agitation for quota under OBC category will continue.
The government had declared the 10 per cent quota for the economically weaker sections among higher castes with an annual income of Rs 6 lakh.
The BJP had suffered heavy losses in the rural local bodies polls, which were blamed on the Patel quota stir.
The court observed that the ordinance promulgated by the State government is against the spirit of the Constitution and fundamental rights.
They said the provision violates the Constitution as Article 46, which is about the directive principles of state policy, does not allow quota beyond the 50 per cent cap.
The Supreme Court dictates that no state can have over 50% reservation.
The Gujarat High Court on Thursday quashed the Gujarat government notification on providing ten per cent quotas for economically backward Classes (EBC) among the upper castes in educational institutions, reports said.
In the ordinance, the government has capped the income limit of Rs. 6 lakh to avail the benefits of quotas under the scheme. The provision of 10% quota was a classification of EWS and it should not be treated as reservation prescribed under the Constitution, it had said.
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“The BJP issued an unconstitutional ordinance rather than making it an Act and getting it cleared through the assembly and parliament”, said Congress president Siddharth Patel. “If Congress really wanted 20% reservation for the economically backward class, it should have joined us as third party supporting the ordinance”, government spokesperson Nitin Patel said.
