Reservation Cannot Be Based on Religion: Supreme Court

New Delhi(The Uttam Hindu): The Supreme Court on Monday said that reservation cannot be based on religion as it heard petitions challenging the Calcutta High Court's judgment that annulled West Bengal's decision to classify 77 communities, mostly Muslim, as Other Backward Classes for reservation benefits.

A bench comprising Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan raised constitutional concerns over using religion as a criterion for granting quotas, matter that is pending before a larger Constitution Bench. West Bengal government has filed its appeal against Calcutta HC's verdict of 22 May that had quashed OBC certificates issued from 2010 onward as it held religion to be the main criterion for grant.

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal argued for the West Bengal government that the decision was purely on the basis of backwardness and not religion, relying upon statistics to support such an argument. He then also drew attention to an almost identical case in Andhra Pradesh where the quota granted to Muslim OBC's by the High Court has been set aside but the order is stayed by the Supreme Court.

Countering this, Senior Advocate P S Patwalia argued for the respondents that no survey had ever been conducted to determine backwardness and the reservation process bypassed due procedure. The Supreme Court shall continue this exercise but the larger constitutional question still remains pending.