NEW DELHI: While allowing one more form of reservation on the basis of economic status of people from the General category, the Supreme Court on Monday emphasised that the quota system should not be allowed to go on for an indefinite period and a time-limit be fixed on it to pave the way for a casteless and classless society.
While upholding the validity of the 103rd constitutional amendment for EWS quota, Justice Bela M Trivedi and J B Pardiwala said that affirmative preferential treatment must be done away with after some time.
“What was envisioned by the framers of the Constitution, what was proposed by the Constitution Bench in 1985 and what was sought to be achieved on the completion of fifty years of the advent of the Constitution, i.e. that the policy of reservation must have a time span, has still not been achieved even till this day, i.e. till the completion of seventy-five years of our Independence. It cannot be gainsaid that the age-old caste system in India was responsible for the origination of the reservation system in the country. It was introduced to correct the historical injustice faced by the persons belonging to the SCs and STs and other backward classes, and to provide them a level playing field to compete with the persons belonging to the forward classes. However, at the end of seventy five years of our independence, we need to revisit the system of reservation in the larger interest of the society as a whole, as a step forward towards transformative constitutionalism,” Justice Trivedi said.
Justice Pardiwala said reservation is not an end but a means to secure social and economic justice and it should not be allowed to become a vested interest. Observing that development and spread of education have resulted in larger number of backward class members attaining acceptable standards of education and employment, he said those people should be removed from the backward categories so that the attention can be paid toward those classes which genuinely need help.
While upholding the validity of the 103rd constitutional amendment for EWS quota, Justice Bela M Trivedi and J B Pardiwala said that affirmative preferential treatment must be done away with after some time.
“What was envisioned by the framers of the Constitution, what was proposed by the Constitution Bench in 1985 and what was sought to be achieved on the completion of fifty years of the advent of the Constitution, i.e. that the policy of reservation must have a time span, has still not been achieved even till this day, i.e. till the completion of seventy-five years of our Independence. It cannot be gainsaid that the age-old caste system in India was responsible for the origination of the reservation system in the country. It was introduced to correct the historical injustice faced by the persons belonging to the SCs and STs and other backward classes, and to provide them a level playing field to compete with the persons belonging to the forward classes. However, at the end of seventy five years of our independence, we need to revisit the system of reservation in the larger interest of the society as a whole, as a step forward towards transformative constitutionalism,” Justice Trivedi said.
Justice Pardiwala said reservation is not an end but a means to secure social and economic justice and it should not be allowed to become a vested interest. Observing that development and spread of education have resulted in larger number of backward class members attaining acceptable standards of education and employment, he said those people should be removed from the backward categories so that the attention can be paid toward those classes which genuinely need help.
