SC declines to entertain PIL challenging reservation policy

The Supreme Court today declined to entertain a PIL seeking to quash the reservation policy based on caste and religion and to implement it on the basis of economic condition.
A bench of Chief Justice P Sathasivam and Justice Ranjan Gogoi said it cannot directly interfere with the policy on the ground that it has achieved its purpose.
The bench told the PIL petitioner that if he feels it was time to do away with the reservation policy, he can make a representation to the government with the data to buttress his contention.
"Before coming to this court for direction, make representation to the elected government that there is no purpose of such representation. Better you wait for the new government to come," the bench observed orally.

The petition filed by Manjit Singh Sachdeva had sought to declare and hold the reservation based on caste as violative of the fundamental right to equality.
The PIL also sought to declare the "reservation on its continued availability without any qualification restricting its benefit to those who have already been benefited in the family or who do not deserve it due to their higher economical status is violative of basic feature of Constitution enshrined in Article 14 of Constitution as right to equality".

It said that reservation policy is meant to uplift people from these caste and communities who need help but "it is more benefiting persons who are already helped and are being further helped".

"The State through the correct scheme of helping certain caste and community to grow, reserves constituencies meant exclusively for SC/ST/OBC, but through this only a limited number of persons continues to take the said seat, how can we call the said seat a reserved seat, if the same person were to continue enjoying the position again and again, without giving opportunity to other SC/ST?," it contended.
The petition challenged certain provisions of the Constitution which enable the "Vote hankering politician to perpetuate the reservation policy in an endemic manner which has totally corrosive effect on the fabric of Indian society by dividing it in an artificial manner and stints its growth beyond reprieve".