The Allahabad High Court today asked the Centre to file a reply on a PIL challenging a notification whereby a sub-quota, under the reservation for OBCs, had been fixed for minorities.

A division bench comprising justices Ashok Bhushan and S U Z Siddiqui passed the order on the PIL filed by city-based social organisation Prahari, which had challenged the notification dated December 22, 2011, whereby a 4.5 per cent sub-quota within the 27 per cent reservation provided to OBCs had been fixed for the minorities.

The petitioner had contended that the aforesaid notification was unconstitutional as under Article 15(4) of the Constitution, reservation could not be provided on the basis of religion.

Asking the Centre to file its reply within a month, the court ordered that the matter be listed for further hearing after six weeks.