OBC Quota

The Supreme Court on Monday paved the way for holding the urban local body polls in Uttar Pradesh as it allowed the State Election Commission to issue a notification in this regard in two days with an OBC quota in terms of a report of the Uttar Pradesh Backward Classes Commission. A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala said, "This court, in an order dated January 4, 2023, noted that in view of the decisions of this court, the government of Uttar Pradesh issued a notification for setting up the Uttar Pradesh Backward Classes Commission in December 2022. Though the tenure of the commission was six months, it was to complete its task by March 31, 2023." It further said, "The solicitor general informs that the report has been submitted on March 9, 2023 to the cabinet. The process of notifying the local body elections is going on and will be done in two days. The plea is disposed of. The direction in this order is not to be used as precedent."

The five-member commission set up by the Uttar Pradesh government to look into the issue of reservation to the OBCs in urban local body elections submitted its report to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday, officials said. UP Information and Public Relations Department Director Shishir told PTI that commission chairman Justice (retd) Ram Avtar Singh and other members submitted their report to the chief minister on Thursday evening. As of now, there is no information with regards to the recommendations made by the commission for providing reservation to the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in urban local body elections, a senior official said. The Uttar Pradesh government had appointed the OBC commission in December last year, a day after the Allahabad High Court quashed its draft poll notification. The panel also comprised retired Indian Administrative Service officers Chaub Singh Verma and Mahendra Kumar, and former legal advisors to the state Santosh Kumar Viskarma and Brajes

The Congress amended its constitution at its 85th plenary session here on Saturday to provide a 50 per cent reservation to Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), Other Backward Classes (OBCs), women, youngsters and minorities in its working committee. According to the amended constitution of the party, the Congress Working Committee (CWC) will now include the former prime ministers from the party and the former AICC chiefs. The number of CWC members will go up to 35 from the earlier 25. The amended constitution says from now on, the party will only have digital membership and records.

The Maharashtra government is planning to construct 72 hostels for students belonging to Other Backward Classes across all the 36 districts of the state, Cabinet Minister of Co-operation, OBC and Bahujan Welfare Atul Save said on Thursday. Revenue Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil has instructed all district collectors to allot land for these proposed hostels at the earliest, he said at a press meet here in central Maharashtra. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Aurangabad (East) will be holding an employment drive for youths in the city on Saturday (February 25). Around 40 companies, banks and skill development agencies are expected to take part in the drive. Talking about the OBC ministry and welfare schemes launched by it, Save said, "We plan to construct 72 hostels in 36 districts in Maharashtra for OBC students. Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil has instructed all district collectors to expedite the procedure to make land available for the same." The state government .

the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is also implementing various schemes to reduce poverty and ensure the socio-economic development of poor and marginalized persons belonging to SCs, OBCs

The existing annual income ceiling of Rs 8 lakh is 'sufficient' to determine the OBC non-creamy layer status of community members: Centre

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday said his government is working with commitment on the reservation issue, as Panchamasalis have renewed their protests with a demand to be included in 2A category of the OBC reservation matrix. The Panchamasali community is a sub-sect of the dominant Lingayat caste in the state. He also accused the opposition Congress of trying to reap benefits from caste politics. The Panchamasali community wants to be included in Category 2A (15 percent) of the Other Backward Classes reservation matrix. They were till now under 3B (5 per cent). However, the Karnataka Cabinet on December 29, 2022 had decided to create two new OBC categories for Vokkaligas and Lingayats (as a whole), and said it has planned to meet their reservation demand by utilising a portion of the 10 per cent Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota. As per the Cabinet decision, the Vokkaligas who come under Category 3A of the OBC list will now be placed under the new Catego

The Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed the Allahabad High Court order directing the Uttar Pradesh government to hold urban local body polls without reservation for the OBCs. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha took note of the submissions of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the state government, and directed that a panel appointed by the state government will have to decide the OBC quota related issues for the local bodies poll by March 31, 2023. The top court permitted the state government to appoint administrators to run the affairs of the local bodies after the expiry of the tenure of the elected representatives. It, however, said the administrators will not be empowered to take major policy decisions. The top court had earlier agreed to hear the Uttar Pradesh government's appeal challenging the high court order quashing its draft notification on urban local body elections and directing it to hold the polls without reservation f

Senior Samajwadi Party leader Shivpal Yadav on Sunday attacked the BJP government, saying the newly-appointed panel on reservations to Other Backward Classes in urban local body elections in Uttar Pradesh should have been formed three years ago. "The 'samajwadis' (socialists) had earlier fought for reservation, and now they have to fight to save reservation. The intention of this government is to first end the reservation to the backward classes, and then end the same for Dalits, he told reporters here. Yadav said his party will now take to the streets to protect the quota system. "The panel, which the government has formed now, should have been formed two to two-and-a half years ago," he said. The five-member panel, appointed by the Uttar Pradesh government to prepare a reservation draft following the Supreme Court-prescribed 'triple test' formula, held its first meeting on Saturday. The 'triple test' formula requires setting up of a commission to hold a 'rigorous empirical inqui

The Supreme Court has sought response from the Centre and others on a plea seeking directions for a caste-based census for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the upcoming Census. A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha issued notices to the Centre, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and others while seeking their replies. It also tagged the matter with a similar case pending before it. The top court was hearing a plea filed by advocate Krishan Kanhaya Pal who said that the governments are unable to share the benefits of the welfare schemes with all sections among backward classes due to a lack of caste-based survey and a caste-based census of the OBCs is of 'vital necessity'. The petition had contended that concrete policies cannot be formulated in the absence of concrete data. Pal had stated that despite the announcement made by the then Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in 2018, there would be a census of the OBC population during the 2021 Censu

The Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday told the Allahabad High Court that it is complying with the 'triple test' formula suggested by the Supreme Court to provide OBC reservation in urban local body (ULB) elections. After hearing the arguments of the state government and the petitioners on the matter related to the OBC quota in ULB polls, the Lucknow bench of the high court placed the case for next hearing on Wednesday and also extended the stay on issuing notification for elections till then. A bench of Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Saurabh Lavania passed the order on a bunch of pleas led by Vaibhav Pandey's PIL. On the government's argument, the bench said, "We are in disagreement that the state's mechanism is as good as the triple test formula. We thought that better senses would prevail on the state, commented the bench, expecting that the state government should have said by itself that it would abide by the Supreme Court direction, establishing a "dedicated commission"

Supreme Court upholds constitutional validity of 10% EWS quota on 'economic basis'

On January 12, 2019, the government of India amended the Constitution to provide a 10 per cent reservation to the candidates from the general category that belong to the EWS

By these notifications, 18 OBCs were placed in the category of SC. High court had already intervened to stop both the governments from action on these notifications

Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde said his government's priority is to work for the common man and it is committed to extending the reservation benefits to the OBCs, Maratha and Dhangar communities

"Modi sainiks and Shiv sainiks will take Maharashtra to greater heights," he said.

Suggestions of commission appointed by Maharashtra government on grant of OBC reservation in local bodies cannot be accommodated for areas for which election programme has already been notified: SC

The Commission was set up by the President under the Article 340 of the Constitution to sub-categorise OBCs so that the benefits of reservation reach all of them

The Supreme Court dismissed a plea seeking a direction that 595 unfilled posts of elementary trained teachers of SC/ST category in Punjab be filled up with OBC candidates

The court in its latest order said the scheme of AIQ was devised to allot seats in State-run medical institutions