The Centre’s controversial poll sop granting reservation to Jats in the OBC category will be scrutinised by the Supreme Court, which wants the UPA Government to explain the rationale behind the decision and submit the related Cabinet files before the court on April 9.
The Supreme Court (SC) issued the notice to the Centre on a PIl that alleged that the Government mindlessly gave away the largesse to woo voters of the community which has a significant presence in eight States.
Issuing a notice on a PIl filed by OBC Reservation Raksha Samiti and private individuals, the bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam said: “It is a serious matter.
We want to peruse the (Cabinet) files to see whether the Government had applied
its mind.”
The court said it will consider the plea for stay of the notification after examining the files and also sought the assistance of Attorney-General GE Vahanvati.
At a Cabinet meeting convened on March 4, the Government had issued a notification including Jats in the Central list of OBCs in the States of Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Delhi. The decision came a day prior to the announcement of elections for the lok Sabha.
Finding fault with the “haste” with which the Government pushed for Jat reservation in admissions and Government service, the petitioners, represented by senior advocate KK Venugopal, said:
“It is a largesse given by political parties on the eve of elections in exchange of votes. This is nothing but a sort of bribery.”
Venugopal went on to submit how “illegally and arbitrarily” the Union Government ignored the National Commission for Backward Classes’ (NCBC) advice which is binding on it, to include the Jats in the OBC list.
Jat Mahasabha, which countered the submissions also wished to be heard on the subject. The SC allowed them to file the relevant application and decided to hear them on the next date.
The petition, drafted by advocate Rajkumar Yadav, pointed out that the decision of the Centre went against the advice of the NCBC, which on November 28, 1997 recommended against giving reservation to Jats. The Commission, being the statutory authority entrusted with the task to determine social and educational backwardness of classes, had statistical data to show that Jats were well-represented in services and top posts in the Centre and States.
Although the Centre had added review powers in 2011 allowing the NCBC to recall and review its own advice, the petitioners questioned how the Government could override the recommendation by NCBC, which is binding on it. The Court, however, did not stay the reservation process. Instead, the bench issued a notice to the Attorney-General for his views on the subject.
The petitioners referred to several empirical studies and surveys and said the Jat community being a socially forward caste will consume a substantive portion of the quota of OBC reservation which will deprive the deserving people of other backward classes of the benefit of reservation.
They submitted that people of Jat community have performed much better than those of other castes and the number of those who have got selected for prestigious civil services examination of UPSC is much higher than the number proportionate to their population.