Uttar Pradesh moves Supreme Court against Allahabad high court order on OBC quota in local body polls | Latest News India - Hindustan Times
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Uttar Pradesh moves Supreme Court against Allahabad high court order on OBC quota in local body polls

Dec 30, 2022 12:41 AM IST

The state government, in its appeal against the Allahabad high court’s December 27 order, said the HC wrongly quashed the December 5 draft notification which provided for reservation of seats in the urban body polls for OBCs apart from those for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday moved the Supreme Court, challenging a Allahabad high court order that quashed quotas for other backward classes (OBC) in local body polls, marking yet another turn in the politically sensitive issue and indicating further delay in the elections.

The Supreme Court is currently on winter break. (Archive)
The Supreme Court is currently on winter break. (Archive)

The state government’s move to file an special leave petition in the Supreme Court was confirmed by a senior state government official. The Supreme Court is currently on winter break.

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“We are hopeful of a quick hearing as soon as the SC resumes after the winter break,” said Uttar Pradesh urban development minister AK Sharma.

The state government, in its appeal against the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court’s December 27 order, said the high court wrongly quashed the December 5 draft notification which provided for reservation of seats in the urban body polls for OBCs apart from those for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women.

The appeal, filed through advocate Ruchira Goel, said OBCs are a constitutionally protected section and the high court erred in quashing the draft notification. Sharing details from the petition, Goel said, “There are Supreme Court judgments that a notification in the draft form cannot be challenged.”

Further, the state appeal said that the high court’s direction to conduct the elections without providing proposed reservation for OBCs violates the constitutional guarantees available to backward classes.

“The government has moved the Supreme Court on the backward quota issue and there is no question of any compromise on the issue. The government’s intentions are very clear that OBC quota would be protected at all costs,” said UP minister Sanjay Nishad, who heads the Nishad party, which represents members of the backward riverine communities and is an ally of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

The government’s move came a day after it set up a dedicated five-member commission to decide OBC reservation amid a political slugfest with several opposition parties targeting the BJP and some also questioning the previous Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) governments for allowing the issue to linger on during their regimes.

Two days ago, the high court quashed the state government’s notification that instituted reservations for OBCs and ordered the delayed elections be immediately held. The court found that the government’s decision had not followed the Supreme Court’s triple test guideline laid down for granting OBC quota in local body elections.

The Constitution bench of the top court had in 2010 laid down a “triple test” for reserving seats in local body polls. This “triple test” included setting up of a dedicated commission to conduct contemporaneous rigorous empirical inquiry into the nature and implications of the backwardness with respect to local bodies, specifying the proportion of reservation in light of the commission’s proposals, and not exceeding the 50% quota cap as laid down by the top court in a landmark 1992 judgment.

“Elections will only be held once the OBC quota is settled,” said deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya.

According to people familiar with the issue, the state government told the top court that it will wait for the commission’s report before announcing local body polls.

The newly-announced chairman of the commission, justice (retired) Ram Avtar Singh, said that it will take about six months to prepare the reservation draft following the “triple test formula” prescribed by the apex court.

“It’s a huge exercise,” said Singh.

With the top government leaders saying that polls will be held once the backward quota is decided, many are now speculating that the elections could be pushed back by a few months, if not more.

On Thursday, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav held a press conference, accusing the BJP of being “anti-backward” and conspiring to end “quotas”; Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati, too, hit out at the government.

“If this BJP government’s conscience is clear on the issue of OBC reservation in the urban local bodies then it should convene the special session of the assembly. This will help both government and opposition discuss the issue,” said Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav. “The Samajwadi Party will also approach the Supreme Court to safeguard OBC rights. The BJP appears wary of losing the civic elections and hence planning to delay them.”

BSP chief Mayawati tweeted: “During its government at the Centre, the Congress did not allow the Mandal Commission’s report regarding reservation for backward classes to be implemented. Along with this SC, ST reservation was also made ineffective. And now, BJP is also following the footsteps of Congress in this matter. Very worrying.”

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Manish Chandra Pandey is a Lucknow-based Senior Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times’ political bureau in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Along with political reporting, he loves to write offbeat/human interest stories that people connect with. Manish also covers departments. He feels he has a lot to learn not just from veterans, but also from newcomers who make him realise that there is so much to unlearn.

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