RESERVATION AND HOW IT HAS TAKEN ITS TURN RECENTLY: AN INSIGHT INTO VIKAS KISANRAO GAWALI vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

Abstract

The supreme court on 6th December, 2021 stayed the 27% reservation for the OBCs in the local body elections, in the new petition filed by Rahul Ramesh Wagh. The supreme court noted the decisions held earlier this year in Vikas Kisanrao Gawali v State of Maharashtra. 

An important stance taken in the judgement was that political backwardness does not necessarily mean the same as social or economic backwardness. 

Therefore, reservation policies with respect to political backwardness should not be constructed with social and economic backwardness in mind

The beneficiaries under Article 243D(6), which emphasises on the reservation of seats in the panchayat and or offices of chairpersons in panchayats, and also the beneficiaries under Article 243T(6), which emphasises on the reservation of seats in municipality or offices of chairpersons in municipality must be the politically backward classes and not the Socially and economically backward classes.

The SEBCs are represented through Article 15(4), which capacitates the state to create special arrangements for promoting the interests and welfare of socially and educationally backward classes of the society. They are also represented through Article 16(4) that provides for the reservation of appointments or posts in favour of SEBCs. 

The group of people that receive reservation benefits in education and employment fields are not the same set that require reservations in the local self-government. This is because the barriers to political participation are not of the same character as barriers that limit access to education and employment. This calls for some fresh thinking and policymaking with regard to reservations in local self – government.

This was the stance taken by the supreme court with respect to political backwardness in Vikas Kisanrao Gawali vs State of Maharashtra. 

This case makes a special reference to the judgement of K. Krishna Murthy (Dr.) & Ors. v. Union of India & Anr. where a certain kind of reservation policy inculcating the triple test policy was set up. 

This case deals with over breach of reservation policy specified in the judgement of K. Krishna Murthy (Dr.) & Ors. v. Union of India & Anr. and also emphasises on the importance of setting up a commission and conducting an empirical study (through the triple test rule) on the quantum of reservations for the OBCs in the political field. 

This Case derives most of its issues because of the non-compliance of the judgement in K. Krishna Murthy (Dr.) & Ors. v. Union of India & Anr. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the judgement given in that case.