Recent Developments:
Bihar government has decided to introduce a 50% job quota for scheduled
castes (SC), scheduled tribes (STs) and backward classes in the superior as well as subordinate
judiciary.
Earlier, there was no provision for reservation in the
appointment of judges to the superior judicial service. But, the subordinate
judicial service, under which munsif magistrates are recruited, had 27% seats
reserved for the SCs, STs and most backward classes (MBC).
As per the new rules:
* 21% seats will be
reserved for extremely backward castes (EBCs)
* 12% for backward castes
(BCs)
* 16% for SCs
* 1% for ST candidates
The state government has also made provisions for
vertical reservation for women (35%) and physically challenged persons (1%).
Critical Analysis
of the above move:
Appointments to the judiciary should be made only on
merit as the consequences of taking in unsuitable candidates to fill
reservation quotas can be detrimental and will dilute standards in an
institution which requires rigour and excellence. The judiciary in India is
still an institution which commands respect across the board.
A report by the National
Commission for Schedule Castes, on reservation in the judiciary, argued
for it saying reservation in
premier institutes like the National
Law Schools can create a talented
pool of legal professionals from socially and economically
disadvantaged communities. It is oblivious to the fact that such a pool of
talented professionals will not need reservations in the first place. And if
students getting into colleges under reservation do need further quotas for
jobs, then reservation as a policy clearly isn’t working.
In the specific context of reservation in judiciary,
the Punjab and Haryana High Court,
hearing a plea for lowering qualification marks for scheduled caste and tribal
candidates, had observed “in the
matter of appointment to Judicial Services, efficiency and quality are
non-negotiable”, and had quashed the plea. The political class needs to
pay greater heed to the HC’s words.
Way Ahead:
There is enough data to substantiate the point that facilitating quality education
will reap richer rewards for the disadvantaged classes than reservation.
PRICE’s all-India survey for 2013-14 shows upper caste households headed by
an illiterate person earned Rs 87,862 per year versus Rs 138,037 for tribal (reserved
category) households headed by people who had studied till primary or middle school.
The goal therefore has to be creating an environment
for scheduled castes and other disadvantaged groups to avail of high-quality
education and attain at least university-level competence, not reserving jobs.
Other
Blogs on Reservation:
Karnataka’s Employment Reservation Policy
Rajasthan high court order on Gujjar Quota
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