The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notice to the Centre and all States and the Union Territories of Chandigarh and Puducherry on a public interest litigation petition seeking a direction for review of the reservation policy.

“Fraud” on Constitution

Petitioner O.P. Shukla, president of the National Coordination Committee for Revision of Reservation Policy, said the policy that had been in force for the last 62 years was lopsided and only fewer groups were getting the benefits.

They became advanced in literacy and economic growth, and gained political and financial affluence. Their continuing to get the benefits of reservation was a “fraud on the Constitution and also on citizens. This has resulted in total violation of Articles 14, 15 and16.”

The time had come to abolish the blanket reservation policy and evolve a new mechanism to uplift and empower the really marginalised sections. .

Mr. Shukla said he had been working for the uplift of sweepers and scavengers and extremely backward communities for the last 35 years. The Coordination Committee, in association with various social organisations, had been working for a review of the schedule under Articles 341 and 342 and for implementation of the recommendations of the Lokur Committee-1965 and exclusion of advanced and affluent castes/tribes among the SCs and the STs from the reservation policy.

For, the benefits had not percolated down to the genuine and deserving during the last 62 years. “Consequently the basic purpose of affirmative action as envisaged by the framers of the Constitution has been defeated.”

A Bench of Justices R.V. Raveendran and A.K. Patnaik issued the notice after hearing senior counsel R. Venkataramani and counsel Balaji Srinivasan for the petitioner.