The Madras High Court on Monday made it clear that the Centre cannot delay indefinitely the implementation of reservation for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in medical and dental seats contributed to the all India quota (AIQ) by State government-run medical and dental colleges every year.
The court said the Centre was bound to implement the reservation from the 2021-22 academic year, and granted it a week’s time to indicate the mode and manner of implementation.
Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy agreed with senior counsel P. Wilson, representing the DMK, that it would be contumacious on the part of the Centre if it did not provide reservation to OBCs during the 2021-22 academic year, as ordered by the High Court on July 27, 2020, and continued to claim that the reservation would have to await the Supreme Court’s decision in Saloni Kumari’s case.
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Filing a contempt of court petition against top Central officials, the DMK pointed out that the High Court had ruled that OBCs were entitled to reservation in AIQ seats. The court ordered the constitution of a committee, comprising Central and State government officials, to decide the quantum of reservation to be provided to OBCs and other modalities to be followed. Such an order was passed by the High Court only after the Supreme Court gave the green signal for doing so without awaiting the verdict in Saloni Kumari’s case. Subsequently, the Centre did not challenge the High Court’s decision before the Supreme Court. Instead, it constituted a committee for suggesting the mode and manner in which OBCs could be provided reservation in AIQ seats from the 2021-22 academic year, the party pointed out.
“It now appears that the Union seeks to change track and keep the implementation of OBC reservation in suspension till the Saloni Kumari case is decided by the Supreme Court. The contempt petition is directed against such a proposal or suggestion of the Union. Prima facie it is unacceptable that the Union would not implement the reservation on the specious ruse that the Saloni Kumari matter had first to be decided by the Supreme Court,” the Bench said.
Authoring an interim order on the contempt petition, the Chief Justice wrote, “The Union’s attempt to not implement the OBC reservation quota in respect of the All India Quota seats in the State in the academic year 2021-22 appears to be contumacious, in derogation of the order dated July 27, 2020 passed by this court and contrary to the representation made before the Supreme Court as recorded in the order dated October 26, 2020.”
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The judges directed Additional Solicitor General R. Sankaranarayanan and Central government senior standing counsel V. Chandrasekharan to submit by July 26 the mode and manner in which OBC reservation would be implemented in AIQ seats. “The admission into the relevant colleges in this State can happen now only upon implementing such reservation quota,” they said.