Supreme Court delays Karnataka government's decision to scrap four percent Muslim quota till May 9

The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed that the Karnataka government's decision to scrap the four percent quota for Muslims will not be implemented till May 9 when the matter will be heard next. This came after the state government sought time in the apex court to file its reply.

At the outset, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta who appeared for the Karnataka government, said he will be filing the reply during the day.

"I will be filing it today but the problem is I (solicitor general) am in personal difficulty as I am arguing before the constitution bench which is hearing pleas related to same-sex marriage. Kindly put the matter for some other day", he told the bench. Senior advocate Dushyant Dave, appearing for the petitioners, opposed the request for adjournment by Mehta and said the hearing has already been deferred four times.

On April 13, 2023, this decision came under the scanner of the apex court, which said prima facie it appeared to be on "highly shaky ground" and "flawed".

Taking note of the observations, the Karnataka government had assured the top court that it will put on hold its March 24 orders by which it had given quotas to Vokkaligas and Lingayats till the next date of hearing. The BJP ruled state government has equally split the quotas between the two communities.

-With inputs from PTI