DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam), the ruling party in Tamil Nadu, argued before the Supreme Court (SC) against including ‘upper castes’ in the 10% quota for economically weaker sections. DMK argued that including upper castes in the scope of the 10% reservation for economically weaker sections (EWS) on the basis of economic status would make a mockery of the policy intended to address the social backwardness of those who were subjected to social oppression.
Reservations are only constitutionally valid when made to achieve social equality and are not technically acceptable when made on the basis of economic concerns, argued the DMK, in a written submission presented to SC by R S Bharati, the party’s organising secretary.
“Reservations have been upheld by this Hon’ble court only on the ground that it is necessary to offset centuries of oppression and social ostracisation. Reservations are affirmative actions to narrow the social gap. Granting reservations to ‘upper castes,’ irrespective of their present economic status, is a mockery of the concept of reservations,” the submission read.
The DMK argued that economic backwardness could not be used to grant EWS quotas in jobs and educational institutions, saying, “Reservations are constitutionally valid only when made to achieve social equality and are not constitutionally valid when made on economic factors as per the judgments of this court.”
“It is well settled that reservation cannot be a poverty alleviation scheme. Reservation is meant to remedy the handicap of prior discrimination impeding the access of classes of people to public administration/education. It is a remedy or a cure for the ill effects of historical discrimination. What qualifies for reservation is backwardness which is the result of identified past discrimination and which is comparable to that of the SC and the ST,” the party further added in its submission.
DMK said that the Supreme Court, in the Indira Sawhney case, had concluded that reservation for the backward classes strives to attain the societal goal of sharing services monopolised by a few of the forward classes. “Such affirmative actions have been upheld as the social and educational difference between the two classes furnished a reasonable basis for classification. The same cannot be said for the rich and poor. Indigence cannot be a rational basis for classification for public employment. Therefore, the present amendments fall foul of the ratio in Indira Sawhney, violate the Indira Sawhney ratio,” it stated.
Essentially, DMK said that social and educational differences in society arise only because of caste, and not because of differences between the rich and the poor.
A slew of petitions against the EWS quota has been filed in the Supreme Court. A five-judge constitution bench led by Chief Justice U U Lalit will begin hearing the matter on September 13.
The Modi government implemented the EWS Quota in 2019, after which a 10% reservation quota for members of the general category Economically Weaker Sections is being offered in public sector educational institutions and government jobs. It was passed to help the poor who were not safeguarded by the reservation policy for SCs, STs, and OBCs.
