New Delhi, July 23 -- The Supreme Court on Tuesday came down hard on the Chandigarh administration for the prolonged delay in implementing the Other Backward Classes (OBC) quota in educational institutions in its jurisdiction, warning that it would be compelled to summon the Union territory's administrator to court if the policy were not operationalised within a week. "There is no reason why the law and rules cannot be framed by the Chandigarh administration after an approval from the Union government," noted a bench led by Chief Justice of India Bhushan R Gavai, and comprising justices K Vinod Chandran and NV Anjaria. "We grant a week's time to comply with and make amendments to the necessary rules. The prospectus to admission within Chandigarh will be amended accordingly. If the order is not complied with, we will be constrained to take steps as deemed necessary," the court stated in its order. The stern remarks came during the hearing of a plea by a medical college aspirant who sought to quash the admission prospectus for MBBS courses at Government Medical College and Hospital, Chandigarh, which excluded OBC reservation. Despite the matter being in court since 2019, the administration has failed to formally implement the 27% OBC reservation, citing procedural delays, even as other reserved categories, Scheduled Castes (15%) and Scheduled Tribes (7.5%), already have representation in the UT's admission process. The court expressed strong displeasure when additional solicitor general (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Centre, informed the bench that the Union government had already approved the OBC reservation policy and had written to the Chandigarh administration to enact the necessary law. "They have enacted a policy and that has been approved by the Union government. We have asked them to frame a law," Bhati said. This prompted the bench to sharply question the delay: "How long will they take? This has been pending for so long. Let the administrator be called to the court." When the counsel for the Chandigarh administration sought four more weeks to complete the process, the bench firmly declined. "Why four weeks? What do you need four weeks for when the Union government has already approved it? When the competent authority desires to do something, it can be done within minutes. I did it in a day in the Supreme Court," CJI Gavai remarked, referencing the Supreme Court's recent decision to implement caste-based reservation in its own administrative appointments. CJI Gavai was referring to his June 2025 move to implement a formal policy of reservation for SC and ST staff in direct recruitment and promotions within the top court, marking a watershed moment in the internal working of the apex judiciary, historically conservative on matters of affirmative action. This was soon followed by amendments to include reservations for OBCs, persons with disabilities, ex-servicemen and dependents of freedom fighters. On Tuesday, the CJI invoked this example to underline that political or bureaucratic will, not time, was the real issue. "When the authority wants to do it, it can be done immediately," he said.The delay in implementing the OBC reservation in Chandigarh has been a long-standing issue. As reported by HT in February 2024, the Chandigarh administration had proposed 27% OBC reservation in education and employment based on recommendations of the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC). The UT's current reservation matrix includes quotas for SCs and STs, and the OBC category was to be accommodated by proportionately adjusting seats from the unreserved pool. But the proposal remained in limbo, with the Centre and UT taking turns to cite "active consideration" as the reason for not taking concrete steps. In a December 2024 hearing, the Centre told the top court that the UT's draft policy was under review. The court had then noted: "We expect the said policy to be considered and the decision to be made by the concerned Department of the Union of India expeditiously." Yet, similar assurances were repeated in February and April 2025, when ASG Bhati sought six weeks, and later eight more weeks, respectively, to finalise the policy. Chandigarh: Last year in March, on the recommendation of the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC), the UT administration had proposed 27% reservation for OBCs in admission to various educational institutions in the city. The draft reservation policy was sent to the MHA for 27% reservation for OBCs and other categories in admission for all educational, professional, technical or medical institutes working under the control of the Chandigarh administration. In a letter to the UT adviser, the MHA stated that the matter had been examined and some observations were noted. Accordingly, the MHA requested the UT administration to clarify the observations made by the ministry. The proposal is under consideration at present. OBC reservation is also not implemented properly in PU. During admissions, students get 5% reservation for backward classes as its expansion hasn't been approved by UGC as per officials. For faculty recruitment, OBC quota is not being followed due to confusion regarding whether Punjab or Centre's policy has to be followed. A proposal for 27% reservation is pending with the Union ministry of education as per PU officials....