National

‘Quota in local bodies does not violate basic structure of Constitution’

New Delhi: The 73rd and 74th amendments providing for reservation of seats for Backward Classes and women in panchayat and municipal elections does not violate the basic structure principle, Additional Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam said in the Supreme Court on Thursday.

The two amendments were a historical necessity and an obligation of the State to empower disadvantageous sections of society, Mr. Subramaniam, appearing for the Centre, submitted before a five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan.

He said under Article 21 people had a right to live with dignity. These unique amendments “which promote equality with dignity can never be said to be violative of the basic structure of the Constitution,” he said.

These were intended to remove inherent weaknesses in the system in the changing situation and environment. Reservation was necessary for the political and social empowerment of the Backward Classes and women. “Our Constitution recognises dynamic equality and not frozen equality. To advance such goals as empowerment of women is consistent with the basic structure of the Constitution and it can never be said to obliterate the basic structure.”

Refuting the petitioners’ contention that such reservation violated the concept of equality, Mr. Subramaniam said experience over the years showed that it had brought about equality and uplift of marginalised sections. The concept of equality would have no meaning if there was no reservation in local bodies.

Before the two amendments were made, the proportion of the BCs and women in panchayats and other local bodies was considerably small, and men were in a position to subjugate women. While in south India weaker sections had a fair representation, in the north a near-feudal system prevailed and there was no proper representation for the BCs and women. This prompted the government to bring in these amendments.

When Mr. Subramaniam submitted that the reservation to the OBCs had already been upheld by the apex court earlier in the Mandal case and in April in the Thakur case, Justice Raveendran reminded Mr. Subramaniam that these judgments wanted exclusion of creamy layer from among the OBCs. The Judge asked “is it your contention that creamy layer should be excluded from politics.”

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