Centre may bring bill to restore states’ power over OBC list

With the Supreme Court rejecting its review petition, the Centre is considering moving Parliament to bring in a constitutional amendment to “restore” the right of state governments to identify and notify socially and economically backward classes (SEBCs) — a description for Other Backward Classes.

ET has learnt that the Centre will soon open political consultations on the issue, which not only has significant political implications but also a strong bearing on the federal structure.

The Centre is considering an amendment to Article 342A, mainly to add a clause that will explicitly say that it does not deprive or impact the state’s right to notify SEBCs, ET has learnt.


On Thursday, the SC rejected the Centre’s review petition against its May 5 order scrapping the quota for the Maratha community on the basis of its interpretation of article 342A.

Article 342A was brought in through the 102nd amendment to the Constitution in 2018, granting constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Castes. Incidentally, the amendment did run into rough weather with opposition parties in 2018 itself, with concerns raised over its interpretation and probable implications for state governments.

That is what happened after a Maharashtra government law giving reservations to the Marathas in admission to educational institutions and government jobs in the state landed in the SC. While considering the constitutionality of the Maratha quota, a constitution bench of the Supreme Court held by a three-to-two majority on May 5 that following the 102nd Constitution amendment, only the President of India had the power to notify SEBCs.

While considering the constitutionality of the Maratha quota, a constitution bench of the Supreme Court held by a three-to-two majority on May 5 that following the 102nd Constitution amendment, only the President of India had the power to notify SEBCs.

States, the bench ruled, could only make recommendations on the SEBCs.

Following the order, the Central government filed a review petition before the Supreme Court arguing that Articles 15(4), 15(5) and 16(4) expressly conferred power on the state to identify and declare the list of socially and educationally backward Classes and that they had been doing so for the past 68 years.

Any denuding of such power can only be done through a constitutional amendment which expressly declares so, and there is no such provision present currently, the government said, adding that the power of the states, hence, continued to be “intact and untouched”.

It has held that Article 342(2) was intended only to ensure that the President (which would mean the central government) would identify backward classes for the purpose of the central list and it would be wrong to interpret this as an exclusion of the state list.

The NCBC, as per the Centre, is constitutionally empowered to exercise its functions in relation to the backward classes under the central list as well as in regard to the state lists of backward classes which are prepared by the states.