Context: The recent Supreme Court verdict in Saurav Yadav vs State of Uttar Pradesh exposes the challenges in appreciating the differences between horizontal and vertical reservations in India.
Relationship between vertical and horizontal reservation:
Deconstructing the opposition between merit and reservation: In principle, reservation is an instrument for identifying merit in individuals from historically marginalized communities.
Conclusion: Members of the reserved category must be fully considered as falling under the rubric of being potentially meritorious.