Advocate-General Ravivarma Kumar expressed his surprise over the lack of interest among the people and leaders of Hyderabad Karnataka to seek judicial remedy to hasten the process of implementation of the benefits of Article 371 (J) of the Constitution.
The Articles extends special reservation in employment and education, among other benefits.
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Speaking after inaugurating a two-day workshop on ‘Issues in Quasi-Judicial Functioning’ in Kalaburagi city on Saturday, Prof. Kumar said, “I am surprised to see that not even a single writ petition has been filed in any of the courts seeking judicial intervention for the implementation of the provisions of Article 371 (J). Instead I only notice the petitions filed with an intention to create hurdles for the implementation of the Article.”
Need for awareness
He said there was a need to create awareness of the benefits extended by Article 371 (J) to the downtrodden people of the backward Hyderabad Karnataka region.
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The Advocate-General’s office, in collaboration with the Hyderabad Karnataka Region Development Board (HKRDB), would soon organise a day-long workshop on the subject, he said.
Prof. Kumar, who was the legal adviser to the former Minister and president of the Hyderabad Karnataka Horata Samiti Vaijnath Patil for long, said it was the untiring efforts of Mr. Patil that resulted in the amendment to the Constitution making way for Article 371 (J).
Final push
He also credited the former Union Minister M. Mallikarjun Kharge and the former Chief Minister N. Dharam Singh for giving the final push to the amendment.
He said the Article opened up new opportunities to the people of the region that has been deprived of its due share in the employment and educational sector. He asked the Revenue Department officials to be wary while giving domicile certificates, and quash all attempts by outsiders to gain domicile certificates to take advantage of the provision.