The Supreme Court on Thursday desisted from staying the 10 per cent job and college reservation for the “economically weaker sections” from the upper castes but agreed to consider the plea to refer the quota to a constitution bench.

The bench of Justices S.A. Bobde and Abdul Nazeer said they would examine the issue of the referral at the next hearing on April 8.

Senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, appearing for petitioners who have challenged the 10 per cent quota, sought a stay on the ground that the railways had already decided to implement the new quota in recruitments.

He argued that the court should stay the quota or at least clarify that any government decision on the matter would be subject to the outcome of the petitions pending before it on the subject. But the apex court desisted from making any observations on this.

NGOs and individuals have challenged the quota, citing past constitution bench judgments — including the Indra Sawhney (1992) and M. Nagaraj (2006) verdicts —which ruled against reservation on the sole basis of economic criteria and fixed the ceiling for the total volume of reservations at 50 per cent.

The quota was notified on January 12 after the Constitution (103rd Amendment) Act, 2019, was piloted swiftly through both Houses and passed with little debate.

According to the government, the quota was based on a 2010 report by the Commission for the Economically Backward Classes.

“It was deemed necessary that a constitutional amendment be brought in to promote social equality by providing opportunities… to those who have been excluded by virtue of their economic status,” it has said.