A Constitution bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court on Monday set aside an act legislated by the state Assembly and a subsequent 2007 government order providing 4 per cent reservation to 15 groups belonging to the Muslim community.

The order was passed by the seven-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Anil Ramesh Dave on a petition filed by an advocate K Kondala Rao.

The state government had moved a bill in the Assembly on the basis of a report submitted to it by the Andhra Pradesh Commission for Backward Classes. The bill was later passed by the Assembly.

The report had recommended that the socially and educationally backward should be adequately represented in the state.

The government order (GO) was issued on July 7, 2007 providing the 4 per cent reservation to the 15 groups.

Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao had also promised political reservation and a quota in education and employment based on population for Muslims in separate Telangana. Rao had earlier said that Muslims would not be assured of social justice unless they get reservation. He had assured the Muslim community that a special provision in Constitution would be invoked, as was done by Tamil Nadu government, to extend reservation to Muslims in education and employment.

TRS chief had promised that Muslims would get the reservations proportionate to their population, which was 13 per cent to 15 per cent in Telangana.  

The TRS chief also assured a budget for welfare of Muslims based on their population. He had appealed to the members of the Muslim community to shed self-defeatism and assert themselves in separate Telangana.