Reservation must not be based on religion- Supreme Court
Context:
Recently, the Supreme Court of India, orally observed that reservation must not be based on religion while hearing an appeal filed by the State of West Bengal against a Calcutta High Court judgment striking down its policy to include several castes, largely Muslim communities, in the State’s Other Backward Classes (OBC) list.
Relevance:
GS-02 (Government Policies and Interventions)
Key Highlights:
- The Supreme Court observation:
- The case was largely regarding Muslim communities of West Bengal, regarding their inclusion in the OBC list.
- The Supreme Court stated that the reservations must not be based on religion.
- It even directed the state to clarify the nature and scope of the survey identifying the social and educational backwardness of these communities.
Rohini Commission:
- The commission was set up on 2nd October,2017 under Article 370, to examine the inequitable distribution of benefits among OBCs listed in the Central List.
- The commission planned to propose scientific parameters for sub-categorizing OBCs and classify respective castes or communities into their respective sub-categories.
- Need for Sub-categorisation:
- It was observed that 97% of the benefit went to only 25% of OBC castes and 37% of the total had zero representation in jobs and educational institutions.
- Sub-categorisation aims to create quotas within 27% reservation.
Mandal Commission:
- It was formed in December 1978 under the chairmanship of B. P. Mandal to define socially and educationally backward classes and recommend measures for their advancement.
- The Commission proposed 27% reservation in government jobs for OBCs based on various indicators of backwardness.
- It identified backward classes among Hindus and non-Hindus, generating an extensive OBC list of 3,743 castes.
- The Supreme Court upheld the 27% quota but limited reservation beneficiaries’ total count to 50% of the population.
- The concept of ‘creamy layer’ was introduced to exclude affluent individuals from reservation benefits.
Constitutional Provisions:
- Articles 15(4) and 16(4) enable reservation for SCs and STs in government services.
- Article 16(4A) allows reservation in promotions for SCs and STs.
- Article 16(4B) enables the filling of unfilled SC/ST vacancies in the succeeding year, bypassing the 50% reservation cap.
- Specific reservation provisions are made in Parliament, State Legislative Assemblies, Panchayats, and Municipalities.
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