The Supreme Court Wednesday decided to examine the extent of power of Parliament to include matter and amendments to Schedule IX of the Constitution of India to take these issues out of the power of the court in order to avoid judicial scrutiny.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Y K Sabharwal, Justices C K Thakker and P K Balasubramaniyam referred the batch of petitions to a nine-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court.
The court also directed the parties to file their return submissions in the court latest by September 27 and made it clear that those who do not file return arguments would not be given a hearing.
The court directed that the nine-judge bench would hear the petition from October 9 to 13.
Several laws including the Land Ceiling Act and laws on reservation for OBCs and SC/STs have also been placed in Schedule IX by the government to avoid judicial scrutiny of their action.
The other important issue involved in the petition is whether Parliament is competent enough to make laws and amendments which strike at and damage the basic structure of the Constitution of India.
Tamil Nadu has made provision of 69 per cent reservation in jobs and admissions in educational institutions while the Supreme Court in its judgment in the Mandal Commission Case in 1992 had fixed the upper limit of reservation at 50 per cent. Earlier also, a five-judge constitution bench in its order dated September 14, 1999 had referred a similar petition challenging the Land Reform Act passed by Tamil Nadu and West Bengal to a nine-judge constitution bench.
