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The Supreme Court of India on Monday sought from the West Bengal government specific details concerning the reservation of the Other Backward Classes in that state, in what can only be described as a big development. The court gave a decree on a petition that questioned the state’s reservation policies. It argued that openness and evidence-based policy formulation are required.1
Context of Case
OBC reservations, too, have been an extremely contentious issue in West Bengal. As in other parts of the country, even here it has reached the Supreme Court. What is at the Supreme Court is a case filed against the state’s reservation policy that, though needing enough reservation for the OBCs, the one being provided discriminates against and gives very little. The petitioners further argue that the classification of data and other standards for categorization and distribution have passed their sell-by date and are without any foundation in facts.
Now under the glaring eyes of the Supreme Court criticism, the Mamata Banerjee government has been reportedly called to file a comprehensive report outlining the standards, information, and procedures in place for arriving at OBC Reservations. The call of the court can be seen in the court’s order, which says this will be underlying the importance of equitable Procedure of Reservations based on contemporary information.
A bench headed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud reiterated the call for up-to-date, live data to support reservation laws at the state level. While reservations are a powerful tool in achieving social justice, it noted that how such reservations are to be implemented must follow the said criteria since they must be accurate and up to date to prevent distortion from their misuse and to ensure those for whom it is designed to get the full benefits.
The court also asked the West Bengal government to serve complete details on the following:
- The present statewide OBC population.
- the economic position of those communities stated above.
- The yardsticks that laid those communities as OBCs.
- how their reservations were divided.
This information will allow the court to decide whether the reservation policy of the state stands in consonance with social justice and egalitarian norms.
Responses of the government:
The state government in West Bengal, led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, now states that it is fully prepared to implement the SC judgment. Consider the authorities in power that the state is still committed to transparency and accountability in the reservation policy.
They assured that as a result, all the required data will be collated and submitted to the court before the deadline.
Mamata Banerjee, one of the staunchest advocates of social justice and welfare programs, was quick to protest: “The government is fully committed to see that as far as it is possible equity and justice is done in the matter of reservation.” She has also, equally pointedly, underscored how the review exercise needs to be undertaken and new data brought in, to cement home, how the socioeconomic scene in this state is changing.
Implications:
The Supreme Court’s verdict is likely to weigh heavily on the practical considerations about the implementation of the OBC reservations in most institutions in West Bengal. The court intends to see that indeed the policies are real and attend to the needs of the individuals receiving them, hence the requisition by the court that presenters of the data provide recent and accurate information.
Moreover, this concept likely forms a precedent for other governments, setting a trend in which data must form the basis of formulating reservation laws. It only goes to prove that such government initiatives are fair and just, and the judiciary is there to protect the tenets of social justice.
Conclusion
Surely, this Supreme Court stipulation to the Mamata-led government of West Bengal to furnish vast data regarding such reservations for OBCs has been a step forward toward making reservation policies more transparent and just. What is undoubtedly important remains proper and adequate sharing of opportunities and resources between the general and OBC populations, though the state is now in the process of furnishing its data. This is one of the cases in which there is a high need to evidence policy judgment and a continuous review of socio-economic policies to hold their relevance and effectiveness against a constantly changing environment.
