State's Muslim job quota quashed

By Omer Farooq
BBC News, Hyderabad

The High Court in India's southern Andhra Pradesh state has quashed an act that reserves jobs for Muslims, saying it is unconstitutional.

The state government this year reserved 5% of education places and government jobs for the Muslim minority.

But the court, ruling on petitions from a number of students, declared the act void and questioned the labelling of Muslims as socially backward.

The state's chief minister said he would appeal to the Supreme Court.

YS Rajasekhara Reddy said the ruling only strengthened his resolve to push through the act.

Quota exceeded

When the act was announced, Andhra Pradesh became the first Indian state to reserve jobs across the board for its minority Muslim community.

But the five-judge High Court bench said the act was contrary to earlier related rulings by the Supreme Court.

The bench said that the act was in violation of the constitution, which did not allow reservations on the basis of religion.

It criticised the reasoning of the Andhra Pradesh Backward Class commission, which made the reservation recommendation.

The judges said the commission had not gathered sufficient data or evolved a proper mechanism for subjecting Muslims to a test of social backwardness.

The bench also said that after Muslims were given the 5% reservation, the total reservation quota in the state had exceeded the 50% limit set by the Supreme Court.

Mr Reddy rejected the court's view that the act was unconstitutional. He said the government was not offering reservations to Muslims on the basis of religion.

He said not all Muslims were offered the benefit but only those who were deemed disadvantaged.

Muslims make up about 10% of the 78m population in Andhra Pradesh.