On March 17, 2015, the Supreme Court set aside
the decision of the central government to include
Jats in the central list of Other Backward Classes
(OBCs) for certain states.37
In February 2014, the National Commission for
Backward Classes (NCBC), after having
examined the issue, had recommended not
including Jats in the central list of OBCs.
However, on March 4, 2014, the central
government included Jats in the central list of
OBCs in Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal
Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan (Bharatpur and
Dholpur districts), Uttar Pradesh, and
Uttarakhand.
The Court made the following major observations while setting aside the government‟s decision:
On bypassing the advice of the NCBC: The Court pointed out that: (i) the observations in Indra Sawhney vs. the Union of India, and (ii) the provisions of the National Commission for Backward Classes Act, 1993; indicate that the recommendations of the NCBC are normally binding on the government.38,39 Further, there was no valid reason for the government to bypass the advice of NCBC.
On the determination of ‘backwardness’: The Court pointed out that backwardness is caused by factors which may be social, cultural, economic, educational, political, etc. While backwardness has been associated with caste in the past, the Court has discouraged the identification of a group as backward only on the basis of caste. The Court stated that new methods must be developed to identify new groups which deserve the protection of the State, such as transgenders, moving away from a „caste-centric‟ definition of backwardness.
On using outdated reports and lists: The government argued that the OBC lists of states can be a reasonable ground for the inclusion of communities in the central list of OBCs. However, the Court pointed that
The Court made the following major observations while setting aside the government‟s decision:
On bypassing the advice of the NCBC: The Court pointed out that: (i) the observations in Indra Sawhney vs. the Union of India, and (ii) the provisions of the National Commission for Backward Classes Act, 1993; indicate that the recommendations of the NCBC are normally binding on the government.38,39 Further, there was no valid reason for the government to bypass the advice of NCBC.
On the determination of ‘backwardness’: The Court pointed out that backwardness is caused by factors which may be social, cultural, economic, educational, political, etc. While backwardness has been associated with caste in the past, the Court has discouraged the identification of a group as backward only on the basis of caste. The Court stated that new methods must be developed to identify new groups which deserve the protection of the State, such as transgenders, moving away from a „caste-centric‟ definition of backwardness.
On using outdated reports and lists: The government argued that the OBC lists of states can be a reasonable ground for the inclusion of communities in the central list of OBCs. However, the Court pointed that
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