High court seeks reply on absence of EWS quota in civil judge recruitment

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat high court on Friday sought explanation of the decision to not make provision for 10% quota for the economically weaker sections (EWS) in the recruitment of civil judges in the state.

Justice N V Anjaria issued notice to the registrar of the high court’s recruitment cell, state’s department of social justice and empowerment, and the Gujarat Public Service Commission (GPSC) and sought reply by January 10, 2020.

A lawyer from Surendranagar, Dilipkumar Savukiya, has filed a petition in the high court through advocate Vishal Dave and sought the HC’s direction to the authorities to make provisions for 10% EWS quota in the posts of judges in lower judiciary. He has challenged the advertisement issued earlier this year as well as the process was undertaken without the reservation provisions for poor candidates from general category.

The petitioner has questioned the advertisement because the provisions in it are against the provisions of 103rd amendment to the Constitution by which the Centre has provided the quota for EWS and the state government has adopted the same.

The petitioner claimed that he practices law for last nine years. He belongs to the EWS category and missed out while applying for the post of a civil judge because he could not avail the age relaxation, which is available for EWS category candidates, because there was no quota provision in the advertisement. Thus, the process is violative of Article 15(6) and 16(6) of the Constitution.

The petitioner has urged the HC to quash the recruitment process undertaken for the posts of civil judges, and demanded a stay on the process till the pendency of the petition. He has demanded that the authorities should be directed to start recruitment process afresh by adding the quota for the EWS in accordance with the policy of the state government.

Earlier, Savukiya and a Patidar reservation agitation movement leader, Dinesh Bambhania, had filed a PIL questioning the recruitment process without EWS quota. Last month, the HC had refused to entertain the PIL and said that the aggrieved candidate can move the HC in his personal capacity.