Legislation providing EWS reservation is a fraud on Constitution and an election gimmick, says former judge

A broad-based discussion on the reservation system is the need of the hour, says Chandru; he calls for a new methodology for appointment of Judges, where neither the executive nor the judiciary has an upper hand

Former judge of the Madras High Court K. Chandru speaking at the centenary celebrations of former Supreme Court judge O. Chinnappa Reddy in Anantapur on Sunday. | Photo Credit: R.V.S. PRASAD

A broad-based discussion on the reservation system is the need of the hour in the wake of the legislation providing reservation for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), opines former Madras High Court judge K. Chandru.

“The relevant Act is a fraud on the Constitution and an election gimmick,” Mr. Chandru said while delivering a memorial lecture on former Supreme Court Judge O. Chinnappa Reddy.

The memorial lecture was organsied as part of Chinnappa Reddy’s centenary celebrations by the Vidwan Vishwam Foundation here on Sunday.

Mr. Chandru said excluding the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and OBCs from the ambit of the EBCs was against the constitutional provision and spirit of reservation for the socially and educationally backward.

“The Supreme Court had ratified the Act, but two Judges had pointed out this aspect in their observation,” he said.

Mr. Chandru made a mention of four prominent judgments of Chinnappa Reddy, which, he said, had changed how judiciary looked at people’s problems. He described Chinnappa Reddy as a person who was closer to the disadvantaged and poorer sections of society.

“Chinnappa Reddy’s judgments are valued even today. During his tenure, the catering cleaners in the Railways had approached the Supreme Court, and he had upheld the labour laws and workers’ right by saying equal pay should be given for equal work,” Mr. Chandru recalled.

The governments at the Centre, right from the one headed by P.V. Narasimha Rao to the one now being helmed by Narendra Modi, had done little to protect public ownership of national assets, he alleged. He also criticised the Centre for selling stakes in the Navratna companies. “Only a few rich such as the Ambanis and the Adanis will benefit,” Mr. Chandru argued.

“The Supreme Court Collegium, a five-member body, is a failed institution during the past three decades,” the retired judge opined at a press conference he addressed after the lecture.

“A new methodology to appoint Judges should be arrived at, where neither the executive nor the judiciary has an upper hand,” he suggested.

The National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) had been proposed as an entity responsible for recruitment, appointment and transfer of judicial officers and legal officers, but the Supreme Court had struck down the constitutional amendment and the NJAC Act, and restored the two-decade-old collegium system in 2015.

The meeting was presided over by noted lawyer Guruprasad and foundation convener A.G. Rajmohan.