SC Notice to Centre on inclusion of Jats in OBC list Tuesday April 01,2014

The Supreme Court of India(SCI)on Tuesday April 01,2014 directed the Centre to produce all the records relating to the notification to include Jat community in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) list for seven States to find out whether the government had applied its mind before such inclusion. 

A 3-Judge Bench of Chief Justice P. Sathasivam and Justices Ranjan Gogoi and N.V. Ramana gave this direction while issuing notice to the Centre on writ petitions filed by OBC Reservation Raksha Samiti, Ram Singh and two others.

The petitioners sought a direction to quash the notification to include Jats in OBC list contrary to the recommendation of the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) rejecting such inclusion

The seven States in which Jats would benefit by the notification are: Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Bihar. 

Senior counsel K.K. Venugopal and senior counsel Viswanath Shetty appearing for the petitioners submitted that the NCBC on February 26 had passed an order refusing to include Jats in the OBC list.

 K K Venugopal said as per the Indra Sawney judgment (Mandal case) the recommendations of the Commission were binding on the government. If the government wanted to take a different view it should give special reasons, he said, and added in this case the government, in its notification issued on March 4, 2014 one day prior to the election notification (when Model Code of Conduct came into force), without giving any reason. 

Alleging that the notification was a fraud on the Constitution, K K Venugopal said no right thinking govt would do that. 

K K Venugopal said if the decision was implemented Jats would take away the quota reserved for other backward communities. 

K K Venugopal  said if admission of Jats were made in schools and colleges under the OBC quota it would have serious repercussions.

K K Venugopal  pleaded for stay of the operation of the notification. 

The bench, however told the counsel, it would consider the question of stay after hearing the views of the Centre. 

Hence the SC called for the production of the records relating to the issuance of the notification to include Jats in the OBC list.