‘Implement reservation policy’

MUMBAI: A 27-year-old lawyer and a 45-year-old social activist have approached the Bombay high court (HC), seeking the application and the scrupulous implementation of the state’s reservation policy while appointing judicial officials in lower judiciary and ministerial staff of all courts across the state.

In their petition, advocate Pradnya Bhuite and Dr Shantaram Karande, complained that while all other HCS across the country (excluding Patna and Kolkata HCS) have adopted the reservation policies, the Bombay HC is yet to adopt one. This is despite the state adopting the policy of reservation in employment long back.

The state’s policy of reservation is reflected in the provisions of the Maharashtra State Public Services (Reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, De-notified (Vimukta Jatis) Nomadic Tribes, Special Backward Category and OBC) Act, 2001. The enactment provides for 13% reservation in public employment for SCS, 7% for STS, 3% for De-notified Tribes, 8% for Nomadic Tribes, 2% for Special Backward Classes and 19% for the OBCS. Bhuite and Karande have filed the petition, through advocate Vinod Sangvikar, in the wake of the advertisement put up for filling up 8,921 posts of clerks, stenographers, peons etc. in judiciary across the state.

The petition read, “The passing references of reservation in the advertisement are either absurd or meaningless unless certain percentage of reservation is prescribed in the appointments.” The petition states that the egalitarian goals enshrined in the Constitution of India would be meaningless unless reservations are provided by way of affirmative action. In order to ensure that inequalities and discriminations in different sections of society are eliminated and the personnel who man the judiciary and its ministerial staff do not become preserve reflection of a single community or a section of the society, it is necessary to provide reservation, it adds.