Mumbai
Edition, 15th July 2008
Mumbai:
Eleven-thirty on Monday morning saw a jampacked courtroom
at the Bombay High Court complex opposite the Oval Maidan.
Journalists, parents of students and even the student wing
of a political party jostled for space amongst the black
coats.
The high court’s Chief Justice, Swatanter Kumar, was
due to announce his verdict on the government’s policy
that colleges should reserve 70% of their seats for students
from the same district. After days of uncertainty, the time
had finally come for the hearing of the PIL challenging
the reservation.
All eyes were glued to the chief justice in black robes,
seated in his high chair. All ears strained to hear what
he was saying. His voice was soft and the microphone pointed
in the wrong direction. At least half-a-dozen cases, ranging
from divorce and custody to financial disputes were argued
with great zeal before the controversial 70:30 rule came
up for hearing.
But when it did come up, it was disposed of in less than
60 seconds. The government did not wait for a court order
against the 70:30 policy. It simply withdrew its own policy.
“The government has withdrawn its decision to introduce
70% reservations for students from the same district for
the current academic year,’’ said the chief
justice, before flinging the case file aside and moving
on to the next item on his agenda.
With that, half the courtroom emptied out and the action
moved to the corridors, as scribes and lawyers shared notes
on the implications of the government’s withdrawal.
The deputy director of education was surrounded outside
the court by everyone who wanted to know just what the government
was up to and its reason for not arguing out the case. She
directed everyone to a higher official.
