Apparently it looks like, when the nation
struggles to showcase an upward mobile index of progress in socio economic
front, some sections in Indian society struggle to maintain rock-bottom
statistics to prove backwardness. It busts the myth that nobody likes portray
as socially backward. But when backwardness rewards, why not? I had to say this
at the cost of being branded “right wing”, going through the Ram Singh
judgment that dispossessed the Jat
Community of its pre-election payoff. The dateline of grant of reservation and
the continued support of the same by the incumbent government reveals nothing
else but the redeeming points of reservation card in politics.
The judgment once again highlighted that
ineligible claims reduce the share of the pie owe to the deserving. It has also
boldly pointed out the need to conceptualise new methods to identify categories
of backward class.
The issue in nutshell is what Advocate
Mohan Parasaran has framed it into, the scope of judicial review. The Central
Government has taken an action pursuant to its power under Constitution and a
Statute, which so happened to be in disregard of the advice given by the
National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC). The advice ordinarily shall be
binding upon the Central Government as per Section 9 (2) of the National
Commission for Backward Classes Act, 1993.
When the legal issue is that of judicial
review, courts enquiry is whether the decision taken is within the confines of
legality, rationality, procedural propriety and proportionality. In this case
courts squarely address whether the decision taken is within its competence as
it has disregarded the advice tendered by NCBC. While doing so, the Government
did not tender any cogent reasons except a vague statement that “ [NCBC] did
not adequately take into account the ground realities”, which in no way is
suffice to brush aside the detailed recommendations proffered by NCBC supported
by documents and analysis. Court found that there lacked sufficient material or
reasoning on which the Government could have based its decision to reverse the
recommendation of NCBC and arrive at the impugned decision to secure reservation
for the Jats.
While concluding the judgment, the judges
do indicate to a very significant act that political parties continue to do,
the manipulative use of caste card. The palliative measures envisioned in Arts.
16 (4) and 15 (4) are to reach out to the most deserving and the groups so
deserving is not static as castes. New practices, methods and yardsticks have
to be continuously evolved moving away from caste centric definition of
backwardness. This only will enable justice in practice.
Caste as identity remains to be clinging
in Indian society partially so because of the reservation based on caste
however we wish away saying that caste is never the sole criteria. I am not
unmindful of the arguments of historical injustice and 60 odd years being short
a period to redeem the damage of centuries. Having said that, the race to
become part of backward class in the central and state lists and the
methodologies adopted to identify backwardness primarily through caste as a
class and relative status measure in comparison to other castes only reiterates
the castsness, which we try to shed to be a progressive society where all are
considered equal despite the birth status.
