Controversial SC ‘quota split’ bill cleared in assembly

HALF OF THE 20%

SEATS WILL BE RESERVED FOR A NEW CATEGORY OF ‘DEPRIVED SCHEDULED CASTES’

CHANDIGARH: The Haryana assembly on Wednesday passed a controversial legislation to bifurcate the 20% seats reserved for scheduled castes (SC) in higher education institutions.

As per the legislation, half of the 20% seats in educational institutions will be reserved for a new category of “deprived scheduled castes”, a move unlikely to withstand legal scrutiny in view of the Supreme Court order in EV Chinnaiah case of 2004.

A similar bifurcation of scheduled caste quota done by former chief minister Bhajan Lal in 1994 was struck down by the Punjab and Haryana high court quoting the Chinnaiah case in 2006.

The sub-classification of reservation by way of the Haryana Scheduled Castes (Reservation in Admission in Educational Institutions) Bill, 2020, would be applicable for graduation and postgraduation level courses in educational institutions maintained by the government or receiving aid out of the state funds. It would also include government and government-aided technical and professional institutions.

Congress MLA Geeta Bhukkal said no state legislature has the power to categorise the scheduled castes. “Why do you want to create division among the scheduled castes? If you want to support them, give them special packages in terms of better scholarships, better coaching facilities etc,’’ she said. Another Congress MLA, Jaiveer Balmiki, however, said that a similar dispensation should be made in jobs also. According to the statement of objects and reasons of the bill, the social and educational backwardness of the deprived scheduled castes makes them a distinct class of citizens who are deprived of the constitutional right to equality of opportunity in comparison with the general SC population.

Since the deprived SCS are not able to compete with other SCS in respect of government jobs, there was a need to provide proportionate distribution of benefits of reservation among various sections of the society and uplift the deprived scheduled castes. It is therefore desirable to make reservation in admission to government and government-aided educational institutions for them, the bill stated.

LEGALLY UNTENABLE

However, the legislation may not withstand legal scrutiny in view of the July 2006 high court orders in a matter pertaining to sub-classification of reservation for SCS by making two categories — Block A and B — for direct recruitment in government jobs. The Haryana government under former chief minister Bhajan Lal had in November 1994 ordered that for purpose of reservation in services, the SCS in Haryana will be put in two categories. “The Block B will consist of Chamars, Jatia Chamars, Rahgars, Raigars, Ramdasias or Ravidasias, while Block A will comprise the remaining 36 scheduled castes…,’’ said the November 9, 1994 notification. This notification was quashed by the Punjab and Haryana high court in July 2006. “We find that the present controversy is fully covered by the Supreme Court’s decision in E V Chinnaiah case. We accordingly quash the November 9, 1994 notification holding the same to be ultra vires of the Constitution,’’ the HC said.

The state government later filed special leave petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court along with an application for grant of stay of the HC orders. However, the SLP was neither listed for hearing nor was a stay granted by the apex court. The state government accordingly also modified instructions of March 19, 1999, regarding sub-classification of scheduled castes for admission in government as well governmentaided/self-financing educational, professional, medical, engineering, technical institutions and colleges.

The apex court in Chinnaiah case had said the state had sought to re-group the homogeneous group specified in the Presidential notification for the purposes of reservation and appointments. It would tantamount to discrimination in reverse and would attract the wrath of Article 14 of the Constitution. “It is a trite law that justice must be equitable.

Justice to one group at the cost of injustice to another is another way of perpetuating injustice,’’ the apex court had said.

GOVT’S JUSTIFICATION

The BJP-JJP government has justified creation of the deprived SC category on the grounds that the representation of deprived scheduled castes in Group A, B and C jobs was only 4.7%, 4.14% and 6.27%, respectively though their population is about 11% of the total state population. As for other Scheduled Castes (who are also about 11% of the total population) the representation in Group A, B and C services is 11%, 11.31% and 11.8%, respectively. The deprived scheduled castes included all those 36 castes which were part of Block A earlier. These include Ad Dharmi, Balmiki, Bazigar, Dhanak, Khatik, Mazhabi, Mazhabi Sikh, Od, Sapela, Sapera, Sikriband, Bhanjra, Bawaria, Barar etc.