The center has requested the revocation of the Supreme Court’s Dec. 17 order that made empirical data a necessary condition for other backward class (OBC) quotas in local agencies. It has asked the court to suspend the election of local institutions in Madhya Pradesh for four months and cancel the reserved OBC seats according to the order. The center recommended that the state’s backward shift committee submit a report during the suspension period in accordance with the court’s previous quota order. The process will involve setting up an independent committee to prepare seat-by-seat data on OBC’s lagging behind, and allocating quotas at each assembly stage, while ensuring that the total booking volume does not exceed the 50% limit.

After Madhya Pradesh made a similar request earlier last week, the center submitted a recall request on Sunday. It is expected to be heard after the court reopens on January 3.

In another application, the Federal Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment also sought to be prosecuted in court proceedings. The ministry stated that the Dec. 17 order had pan-Indian influence and deprived the OBC of the political representation guaranteed by the Constitution.

The challenged order was passed without hearing the opinion of the center.

The center stated in its request: “The promotion of scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, and other backward classes has always been the top priority of the federal government. The lack of representation of OBC in any local self-government government violates its goals, intentions and decentralization and governance. The purpose of bringing the idea to the grassroots level.” It added that the issues raised in this petition have important public significance and have pan-Indian implications for the implementation of OBC reservations in elections across the country.

While the election process in Madhya Pradesh was proceeding to allocate seats to the OBC, the court issued an order. The court instructed to re-notify these seats as general category seats.

The center believes that any intervention at this stage will cause the OBC community to lose the five-year quota. In addition, five years is not a short period of time, and it will cause “serious prejudice against backward class citizens.”

As a temporary solution, the center proposed to suspend the electoral process and also asked the committee to submit a report within three months. “Till such time, the administrator can function who can hand over the charge to the newly elected person/body who will be elected with the provision of OBC reservation,” the application said.

The Supreme Court’s decision provides for a triple test of quotas in the K Krishnamurthy case (2010) and Vikas Kishanrao Gawli (2021).

Complete News Source : Hindustan Times