Ordinance doing away with subject-wise reservation for teachers in colleges challenged in SC

A petition was filed in the apex court Friday praying that the Centre’s Ordinance to overturn the Supreme Court’s verdict providing for subject-wise reservation in teaching posts in universities/colleges be struck down.

The Supreme Court was moved by petitioners Prathvi Raj Chauhan and Priya Sharma, who sought a stay on the provision of the Central Education Institutions (Reservation in Teachers’ Cadre) Ordinance 2019promulgated by the President, while also praying that the same be struck down.

The Ordinance was not just inconsistent with the basic principle of equality but was also unethical as it sought to overturn a well-descriptive and reasonable order of the Supreme Court, urged the petition.

The Supreme Court in January upheld the decision of the Allahabad High Court by which it was held that appointment for the post of professors in the University must be subject wise rather than treating the varsity as one unit as the same could result in some department having all the reservation and some department having only unreserved candidates.

The entire nation protested the decision. The Centre on March 7 promulgated the Central Education Institutions (Reservation in Teachers) Ordinance 2019 which stated that a college would be treated as one unit for reservation and the same would not be subject or department wise, as held by the Allahabad High Court and upheld by the apex court.

The petitioners prayed that the Ordinance be quashed and said, "The Indian judiciary has been known for its progressive and transformative role and it is time for them to assert their role in making a nation where everyone gets a fair chance. It quite convincingly appears that the government is undermining the other Democratic Institutions and their powers, now the government has used the emergent power under Article 123 into a source of law-making that is unethical to the scheme of the Constitution.”

They said, “The court's verdict has to be seen as placing a vital check on what has until now been a power rampantly abused by the executive. Therefore, negligence/failure of governments, at the Centre as well as states, to place ordinances would in itself be constituted as a fraud on the Constitution and the same cannot be allowed in the good spirit of law and order.”