OBC MPs want quota in higher judiciary
The demand for quota in higher judiciary on Thursday grew louder with OBC MPs petitioning the prime minister for reserving seats for candidates from backward classes.
By TNN |
NEW DELHI: The demand for quota in higher judiciary on Thursday grew louder with OBC MPs petitioning the prime minister for reserving seats for candidates from backward classes.
The OBC Parliamentarians Forum, which has representatives of all political parties, said the present system of collegium for selecting judges has resulted in ���speedy deterioration��� of representation given to candidates belonging to SCs, STs and OBCs.
Alleging a caste bias, the OBC forum said the collegium has not been fair to OBC candidates. It also drew the attention of the prime minister to two reports of Parliament���s standing committee on the issue which recommended reservation for SCs, STs and OBCs in higher judiciary.
���It is disturbing to notice that instead of considering implementation of these reports, the Union government is in a hurry to increase the strength of judges of the Supreme Court from 26 to 31. It is legitimately apprehended among the weaker sections that this is a move to pack higher judiciary with members of the upper castes,��� the memorandum submitted to the prime minister said.
The OBC forum headed by Congress��� V Hanumantha Rao also demanded a white paper on the criteria followed in the selection of judges. It said till the demands of the forum are addressed, the government should put on hold the proposal to create additional posts of judges in the Supreme Court.
In another memorandum, the forum asked the government to remove the 50% ceiling on reservation and extend the facility in promotion to OBCs. The panel, which hit out at the concept of creamy layer, said it should be immediately removed.
���Even though reservation is in existence since 1952, statistics reveal that in the upper echelons of power, the per centage of weaker section is very meagre. This is due to the non-implementation and wrong interpretations of the reservation policy. Moreover, the officials who head the departments mostly belong to the upper castes,��� the memorandum said.
The OBC Parliamentarians Forum, which has representatives of all political parties, said the present system of collegium for selecting judges has resulted in ���speedy deterioration��� of representation given to candidates belonging to SCs, STs and OBCs.
Alleging a caste bias, the OBC forum said the collegium has not been fair to OBC candidates. It also drew the attention of the prime minister to two reports of Parliament���s standing committee on the issue which recommended reservation for SCs, STs and OBCs in higher judiciary.
���It is disturbing to notice that instead of considering implementation of these reports, the Union government is in a hurry to increase the strength of judges of the Supreme Court from 26 to 31. It is legitimately apprehended among the weaker sections that this is a move to pack higher judiciary with members of the upper castes,��� the memorandum submitted to the prime minister said.
The OBC forum headed by Congress��� V Hanumantha Rao also demanded a white paper on the criteria followed in the selection of judges. It said till the demands of the forum are addressed, the government should put on hold the proposal to create additional posts of judges in the Supreme Court.
In another memorandum, the forum asked the government to remove the 50% ceiling on reservation and extend the facility in promotion to OBCs. The panel, which hit out at the concept of creamy layer, said it should be immediately removed.
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���Even though reservation is in existence since 1952, statistics reveal that in the upper echelons of power, the per centage of weaker section is very meagre. This is due to the non-implementation and wrong interpretations of the reservation policy. Moreover, the officials who head the departments mostly belong to the upper castes,��� the memorandum said.
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