The Union government has said in Supreme Court that the provisions in the Constitution of India allowed the government to make the law providing 27% quota for OBCs in the Central educational institutions. The senior counsel K Parasaran defended centre’s decision to make a law for the welfare of the people of backward classes in the country.

According to him, the 93rd Constitutional Amendment included with Article 15(5) enables the reservation for socially and educationally backward classes (SEBCs) as constitutional. The policy to grant quota to OBCs is not violative of the basic structure of the Constitution.

K Parasaran said before the five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan that the Article 15 (5) allowed the government to enable the quota provision and conferred legislative competence for making such quota laws. The five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan is examinig the validity of the much-debated quota laws providing 27% reservation to OBCs.

He said:

The amendment does not confer unbridled power. Parliament and legislatures are alone the arms of the state to make laws. An amendment of the Constitution can empower them to make particular laws by adding to the empowerment.

He also said that in the caste-ridden country like India, the identification by castes alone could be the starting point of recognizing the people of backward classes. The victims of caste system have to be identified for counteractive action for their welfare.

According to him, the political justice has been granted to the SCs and STs by reserving seats for them in Parliament. Now, the government wanted to grant social justice to the people of backward classes by granting them education at all level.

Read