Sensational Comments by Supreme Court Judge on Reservations

Justice Surya Kant of the Supreme Court of India made sensational remarks regarding caste-based reservations in the country. Drawing an analogy, he compared the reservation system to train compartments. “The reservation system has turned into a railway compartment, where once someone boards, they are reluctant to allow others in,” said Justice Surya Kant.

These comments were made during a hearing related to reservations for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in Maharashtra’s local body elections. Justice Surya Kant is set to take charge as the Chief Justice of India later this year, adding further significance to his statements.

The last local body elections in Maharashtra were held during 2016–17. A prolonged legal battle over OBC quotas has caused severe delays in conducting subsequent elections. In 2021, the Supreme Court struck down an ordinance issued by the Maharashtra government that aimed to implement a 27 percent quota for OBCs.

The apex court laid down a three-fold principle for implementing OBC reservations in local bodies: the mandatory collection of empirical data on the backwardness of the group, the determination of reservation percentages based on the recommendations of a dedicated commission, and ensuring that the total reservations for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and OBCs do not exceed 50 percent.

Due to ongoing data collection and associated legal cases, the electoral process has been unable to move forward.

During the hearing, senior advocate Indira Jaising, arguing on behalf of the petitioner, pointed out to the court that although OBCs had been identified, the Maharashtra government was not utilizing the collected data for local elections. Stressing the urgency of conducting the elections, she alleged that the state government was unilaterally running local bodies through officials who are favorable to its interests.