Plea for timelimit to be fixed in OBC resevation by SC

New Delhi, Aug 14 (UNI) Reservation cannot continue indefinitely and a timelimit must be set for the policy of quota at which it must stop, senior counsel Hari Salve arguing for petitioners opposing government policy of providing 27 per cent reservation to the OBCs in admission to centrally-run educational institutions of higher learning today submitted before the Supreme Court.

Mr Salve also submitted before the five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan that caste was consciously not mentioned in article 15(iv) of the constitution of India as reservation cannot remain confined only to Hindus. Hence, the reservations are meant for socially, educationally and economically backward sections of society and caste of a person cannot be the sole criterion for providing reservation and it can only be one of the relevant sectors for determining backwardness of a class of people.

He also advocated constant monitoring of the implementation of the reservation quality. Reservation cannot be provided as compensation for historical wrong which was perpetrated for centuries on the basis of caste.

Other judges on the bench were Justices Arijit Basayat, C K Thakker, R V Raveendran and Dalveer Bhandari.

Another petition is also to be filed in the Supreme Court on behalf of Mahatma Phule Samata Parishad and Samir Bhujbal, son of Maharashtra Minister supporting the reservation policy of the government.

The petitioners have blamed the entire establishment, including media, legal fraternity, universities, top bureaucracy as well as top politicians for launching and highlighting anti-reservation agitation as the entire establishment is dominated and controlled by upper caste mainly Brahmins, Thakurs, Kayasthas, Banias and Khatris etc and among Muslims, Sheikhs and Syeds dominate the establishment.

According to the petition, the upper caste-dominated establishment never ask for the representation of OBCs, SCs and STs in job as well as educational institutions. But they always press for exclusion of the creamy layer and if it is done so, no candidate from the oppressed section of society shall be available for the seats reserved for them. Ultimately, the reserved seats will also go to the upper caste/general category candidates and this is exactly the upper caste of this country want.

The petitioners have also prayed to the court to vacate the interim stay granted on March 29, 2007 against the implementation of central educational institutions (reservation in admission) act, 2006.

The Supreme Court has however, refused to tag the fresh petition with the main case but has agreed to hear the petitioners.

UNI