'Reservation in the country is like a train compartment, those who board it...', a big comment by Supreme Court judge Suryakant:

News Topical, Digital Desk : 'Caste based reservation in the country has become like a train compartment, those who board this compartment do not want others to come in.' This was said by a Supreme Court judge Suryakant. Justice Suryakant made these comments while hearing a case related to reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBC) in local body elections in Maharashtra.

Maharashtra local body election issue

Local body elections in Maharashtra were last held in 2016-2017. The main reason for the delay in appointment to the posts is the legal battle over the quota for Other Backward Classes (OBC) candidates. In 2021, the Supreme Court struck down the Maharashtra government's ordinance implementing 27 percent quota for OBCs.

The court laid down a three-tier test

The Court laid down a three-fold test. The first is to constitute a dedicated commission to conduct a contemporary rigorous empirical investigation into the nature and implications of backwardness in the local bodies of the state. The second is to specify the proportion of reservation to be provided in the local body in the light of the recommendations of the commission.

Third, the total reservation for SC/ST/OBC will not exceed 50 per cent. Since then, delays in data collection and litigation have stalled efforts to hold local body elections in the state.

The counsel for the petitioner gave this argument

Advocate Indira Jaising, appearing for the petitioner, told the court that despite identification of OBCs during delimitation, Maharashtra is not using the data for local body elections. She stressed the need to hold elections for local bodies soon and alleged that the state government is running the local bodies unilaterally through select officials.

Advocate Gopal Shankarnarayanan, who appeared for the petitioner in the same case, told the court that for the purpose of reservation, politically backward and socially backward classes should be identified within the OBCs.

Don't want to let others in - Judge Suryakant

Judge Surya Kant then said, "Reservation in the country has become like train compartments, those who have boarded it do not want to let others in. This is the principle of inclusiveness. Governments are bound to identify more classes. There are politically, economically and socially deprived people. Why should they not get the benefit (of reservation)? Only a few families and groups are getting its benefit." The court will hear the case again later in the day.