‘Like reservation train compartments in the country, people who climbed into it …’- Judge Suryakant

‘Caste based reservation in the country has become like a train compartment, people who climb in this compartment do not want to let others enter.’ Suryakant, a judge of the Supreme Court, has said this. Justice Suryakant made these comments while hearing a case related to reservation for the Other Backward Classes (OBC) in the local body elections in Maharashtra.

Maharashtra local body election issue

Local body elections in Maharashtra were last last held in 2016-2017. The main reason for the delay in appointment to posts in the legal battle over quota for other Backward Class (OBC) candidates. In 2021, the Supreme Court canceled the Maharashtra government’s ordinance to implement 27 percent quota for OBCs.

The court set three level tests

The court has set three-level tests. The first is to set up a dedicated commission to conduct a contemporary empirical investigation into the nature and implications of backwardness in local bodies of the state. Second, in the light of the recommendations of the Commission, the provision of reservation to be made in the local body is to specify the ratio.

The total reservation for the third SC/ST/OBC will not exceed 50 percent. Since then, the delay in data collection and litigation has stopped efforts to hold local body elections in the state.

The petitioner’s lawyer gave this argument

Advocate Indira Jaising, appearing for the petitioner, told the court that Maharashtra is not using data for the local body elections despite the OBC identity during delimitation. He emphasized the need to hold elections soon for local bodies and alleged that the state government was running local bodies unilaterally through select officials.

In the same case, advocate Gopal Shankaranarayanan, who appeared on behalf of the petitioner, told the court that politically backward and socially backward classes should be identified within the OBC for the purpose of reservation.

Do not want to let others enter- Judge Suryakant

Judge Suryakant then said, ‘Reservation in the country has become like train coaches, people who have climbed into it do not want to let others enter. This is the principle of inclusion. Governments are obliged to identify more classes. There are political, economic and socially deprived people. Why should they not get benefits of reservation? Only a few families and groups are getting the benefit. The court will hear the case again during the day.

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