New Delhi: Reservation is not a fundamental right, the Supreme Court said Thursday while refusing to admit a batch of petitions seeking the implementation of 50 per cent reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) for state-surrendered seats in the all-India quota for undergraduate and postgraduate medical courses in Tamil Nadu.
“We appreciate the concern of all the political parties for the welfare of backward classes. But reservation is not a fundamental right,” a three-judge bench led by Justice L.N. Rao told the lawyers appearing for various parties including the AIADMK, DMK, Tamil Nadu Congress, CPI and CPI(M).
All withdrew their petitions with a liberty to approach the Madras High Court.
The bench, which held the hearing through video-conferencing, observed verbally that no case was made out for the petitioners to approach the top court directly under Article 32, a remedy available under the Indian Constitution if there is violation of a fundamental right.
Rao’s observation is a reiteration of an earlier verdict where the Supreme Court held that reservation cannot be claimed as a fundamental right.
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Violation of fundamental right to education: DMK
Senior advocate P. Wilson, appearing for DMK, argued against the Centre’s move to proceed with all-India counselling for medical courses, without implementing OBC reservation in Tamil Nadu.
In its petition, DMK argued that in the past academic years, the OBCs were “grossly under-represented” in the all-India quota seats for undergraduate, diploma, PG diploma and PG medical colleges across the country.
Justice Rao sought to know from Wilson the cause of filing such a petition and whether there was any violation of any fundamental right involved in the plea. “You have moved this petition under Article 32. This can be done only if your fundamental right is violated. What is the violation? Please tell us,” the judge asked.
Wilson replied, “Their (OBC) right to education is being violated. Also, their right to reservation stands violated.” At this the bench remarked that reservation is not a fundamental right.
Wilson then proceeded to contend that only the political parties could have come to the court for the “cause of downtrodden”. “They (OBC) cannot come to court to vindicate their rights,” Wilson added.
But when the bench threatened to “throw out the petition”, he withdrew with liberty to move the Madras High Court, with other lawyers following too.
‘All political parties have come together’
As the political parties displayed bonhomie on the issue, the bench was provoked to comment on this “unusual moment”.
“All the political parties have come together on the same platform for the same matter,” remarked Justice Rao. “In the State of Tamil Nadu, it has not happened before,” he said when a lawyer claimed parties have together fought for causes in the past.
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First of all in tamilnadu pmk the political party against for the 50%of reservation file a case in the high court but in your news all other party except pmk will appear what is your ethics
Origin of Caste based Reservation system is in Manu Smriti in India, and under Manu Smriti, the General category people got 100 percent Caste based Reservation in Education and Employment for thousands of years in India, and the British white people to do justice to the SC, ST, OBC category people, granted Caste based Reservation to the SC, ST, OBC people in Education and Employment in India, in the year 1936, and 50 percent Caste based Reservation for the SC, ST, OBC people continued under the Constitution of India, in the year 1950, for the unlimited period of time, and by that way, the General category people lost 50 percent reservation, and therefore they got annoyed for it, and then they started agitations against the SC, ST, OBC reservation, and started talking about Merit, and the Times World Higher Education Report of the year 2020 says, the Oxford University, England, is at Rank – 1, and the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, India, is at Rank – 401, and yet the talk about Merit continues in India. – Sir Vishal Anand, Nagpur, India.
Very good decision by Supreme Court. The reservation system needs to be revised every 10 years. The unreserved category is feeling suffocated dur to high competition and lesser seats. Effectively only 40 percent is left of open competition and 60% goes into the kitty of reservation. This is also a discrimination against a hardworking student, who is unable to get a seat despite getting higher marks.
Very good decision by Supreme Court. The reservation system needs to be revised every 10 years. The unreserved category is feeling suffocated dur to high competition and lesser seats. Effectively only 40 percent is left of open competition and 60% goes into the kitty of reservation. This is also a discrimination against a hardworking student, who is unable to get a seat despite getting higher marks.
Under representation of any category is a gross social injustice..A upper caste doctor will not touch and treat a SC or an OBC patient in rural india.. Therefore reservation proportional to the percentage of caste categories is a fundamental right to overcome the 2000 years of dispropotional development among the caste categories.. Print Team – you never publish our voices.. Publish this please..
Through its order on Thursday, the Supreme Court has reiterated an earlier verdict that says reservation is not a fundamental right. It is the discretion of the government. The court has held that the provision under the Constitution is an enabling provision, states may or may not make reservation.
In case of a genuine concern over under-representation of OBC and SC in the medical profession, state must make suitable amendments under the law to provide a level-playing field to members of the communities.
Good to substantiate your statements with facts and figures; then he state governments concerned would take cognisance of those details move their local courts against those medical practitioners!