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| OBC may spell political puff in J&K | | | Early Times Reporter
Jammu | Apr 12
ET EXCLUSIVE
The Supreme Court verdict of upholding the 27 per cent reservation quote for Other Backward Classes may have got across the board appreciation from all political parties but in Jammu and Kashmir it can bring along a problem for the government.
Giving a big push to reservation policy, the Supreme Court had on Thursday upheld the controversial law providing 27 per cent quota for OBCs in IITs, IIMs and other central educational institutions but excluded the "creamy layer" from its ambit.
The law was earlier passed by the Parliament of India and was applicable to entire country except the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Though being cleared by the Supreme Court, the state assembly needs to ratify a law promulgated by the Parliament for making it applicable in Jammu and Kashmir owing to the special status of the state under Article 370.
As parties across the country embark out to hail the Supreme Court verdict, the Other Backward Classes in Jammu and Kashmir too have started making a case for implementation of the quota here. Currently there is only two per cent reservation quota for OBCs in Jammu and Kashmir. It the pressure is further mounted it can make things different for the government as OBCs constitute a significant chunk of vote bank in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Panthers Party has already raised the issue and is all set to make it a major agenda for public support mobilization. The Panthers Party has urged the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir to exercise his extraordinary jurisdiction to issue a special ordinance to implement the judgement of the Supreme Court of India making fixing 27% reservations for the OBC in J&K.
Bhim Singh said that this has become obligatory to ensure the benefit to the OBC in J&K in view of the fact that the Central legislation does not apply to J&K as no law made by the Parliament applies to J&K, thanks to the Parliament which has abdicated its authority to legislate for J&K. He said that any judgement of the Supreme Court automatically applies to J&K also. Therefore, he urged the Governor to take appropriate action without any delay.
The five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan had on Thursday unanimously held that "creamy layer" must be excluded from the socially and educationally backward classes (SEBCs) and there should be a periodic review after five years on continuing with the quota.
The Bench upheld the validity of the Constitution (93rd Amendment) Act 2005 empowering the Centre to come out with the special law for OBC reservation in educational institutions of higher learning. The members of the Bench, which delivered four separate judgements, were unanimous that the 93rd amendment and the 2006 legislation providing for the quota were "not violative of the basic structure of the Constitution".
The only divergent view was relating to the constitutional validity of the 93rd amendment in relation with private unaided institutions, with four judges leaving the issue open since none of those institutions had approached the court.
The Bench rejected the contention of the anti-quota petitioners contending that identification of SEBCs for reservation on the basis of castes was not allowed in the Constitution which seeks to achieve casteless and classless society.
"Identification of backward class is not done solely based on caste. Other parameters are followed in identifying the backward class. Therefore the Act is not invalid for this reason," the Chief Justice said.
"Determination of backward class cannot be exclusively based on caste. Poverty, social backwardness, economic backwardness, all are criteria for determination of backwardness," Justice Balakrishnan said and his view was shared by Justice R V Raveendran.
On the same issue Justices Arijit Pasayat and C K Thakker said that determination of backward class can be done by excluding the creamy layer for which necessary data must be obtained by the Centre and the State government.
"So far as determination of backward classes is concerned, a notification should be issued by the Centre. Such notification is open to challenge on the ground of wrongful exclusion and inclusion," Justice Pasayat said. |
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