The Hindu : National : “Do not divide students on caste lines”

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Friday, Aug 17, 2007
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“Do not divide students on caste lines”

J. Venkatesan

“What is intended as social engineering is now a problem of vested interest”

Reservation cannot be continued in perpetuity: Salve
The process of removing ‘creamy layer’ must be done every year

New Delhi: Providing reservation to Other Backward Classes in educational institutions will divide students on caste lines and be detrimental to society, argued senior counsel Harish Salve in the Supreme Court on Thursday.

A five-judge Constitution Bench comprising Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, Justices Arijit Pasayat, C.K. Thakker, R.V. Raveendran and Dalveer Bhandari is hearing a batch of petitions assailing the provisions of the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006 providing for 27 per cent OBC quota and the 93rd Constitution Amendment law under which the OBC quota legislation was enacted.

Appearing for one of the petitioners, Mr. Salve said, “Don’t divide students on caste lines. It will have a bad effect on young minds. Further, perpetuation of caste system will create entrenched rights which in turn will create pressure or opinion groups in society.”

He said creation of vested interests would be against the constitutional goal of equality. He said reservation as a measure was intended only as a bridge to shorten the gap and it could not be continued in perpetuity. He said, “They [quotas] are not crutches to create permanent disabilities. Once a community reaches progress that community should be excluded from reservation. What is intended as a measure of social engineering has now become a problem of vested interest.”

Mr. Salve quoted from earlier judgments of the apex court and the U.S. Supreme Court to show how the courts had deprecated the perpetuation of caste system as a separate class. He said that as per the apex court judgments the State was bound to review the reservation from time to time. He said, “Once a backward class cannot be treated as a BC for ever. There is the inherent danger of the 27 per cent quota for OBCs hanging on indefinitely.”

Mr. Justice Raveendran asked counsel, “How do you say the law is per se bad. If the creamy layer is deleted whoever is at the bottom will get a benefit. What is wrong in it?” Mr. Salve said, “In that case the process of removing the ‘creamy layer’ must be done every year.” Mr. Justice Balakrishnan said the Government was bound to act on the recommendations of the Backward Classes Commission. Mr. Salve said, “The Commission had not conducted the exercise of removing the creamy layer in the last 10 years as the Government had not done anything to get the data. You [government] know the symptom of the disease but you are scared to touch it fearing unpleasant incidents from pressure groups.” Further arguments will continue on August 21.

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