{50% reservation to Valmiki, Mazhabi Sikhs among SCs} MP Manish Tewari writes to Channi to reiterate Punjab’s stand
MP Manish Tewari added the matter was now pending before the Supreme Court and the stay against high court’s August 30, 2010 judgment continues to hold; stand of Punjab must be clear, he added
Chandigarh Anandpur Sahib Member Parliament (MP) Manish Tewari on Monday wrote to chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi to endorse and reiterate the Punjab government’s stand to allot 50% reservation to Valmiki and Mazhabi Sikhs of seats reserved for the Scheduled Castes (SCs).
In the letter, the MP adds on May 5, 1975, the Punjab government had issued a circular that of the reserved seats reserved for the SCs, 50% of vacancies would be offered to Valmiki and Mazhabi Sikhs. He added that the Punjab and Haryana high court had struck down the circular on July 25, 2006. A special petition against the order was also quashed by the Supreme Court on March 10, 2008.
“Thereafter, the legislative assembly of Punjab, to surmount the legal basis of these two judgements enacted ‘The Punjab Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes (Reservation in Services) Act 2006. The said act was notified by the Punjab government as envisaged in a May 5, 1975 circular,” Tewari adds in the letter.
He adds that the clause stipulated that 50% of vacancies of the quota reserved for the SCs in indirect recruitment shall be offered to Valmiki and Mazhabi Sikhs, subject to their availability, by providing first preference from among the SC candidates.
The MP, while narrating the legality of the issue, says that on March 29, 2010, a division bench of the Punjab and Haryana struck down the provision contained in Section 4 (5) of the act passed in 2006, after which it was challenged by state on August 20, 2014. Following this, a three-judge bench comprising the then chief justice of India (CJI) RM Lodha referred the matter for consideration to a larger bench.
On August 27, 2020, a five-judge bench of the apex court in a detailed order said, “We endorse the opinion of three judges and request the CJI to place the matter before a bench comprising seven judges or more, as appropriate.”
The MP said the matter was now pending before the Supreme Court and the stay against high court’s August 30, 2010 judgment continues to hold.
“Now, some eminent scholars flagged the issue with me and discussed some apprehensions, substantiated or otherwise, that the government of Punjab is being advised to reconsider its consistent stand going back to May 5, 1975,” he said, adding that he was not sure of the trepidations of these scholars are well-founded or not.
“Given the importance of the issue, I urge you to ensure that all legal and political will must be brought to bear to continue supporting the stand enunciated by the Punjab government on May 5, 1975,” the MP added.