Chirag Paswan for bringing quota law under 9th Schedule

Chirag Paswan said that the central government should immediately put all issues related to reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution.

Lok Sabha MP and Lok Janshakti Party leader Chirag Paswan said on Monday that the central government should immediately put all issues related to reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution, so that they cannot be challenged or questioned in the court.

LJP MP Chirag Paswan speaks in the Lok Sabha during the Budget Session of Parliament, in New Delhi, Monday, Feb. 10, 2020. (PTI photo)

A law under Ninth Schedule is supposed to be immune from judicial review and cannot be challenged in the courts, though this position has been disputed after a 2007 Supreme Court judgment.

“I have spoken to the BJP leadership and requested them that, once and for all, the laws regarding SC/ST reservation should be put under the ninth Schedule of the Constitution so that all debates about this issue are put to rest. Repeatedly, we are seeing that someone or the other is approaching the courts challenging laws like the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act,” Paswan said.

Paswan, who raised the issue in Lok Sabha, said the frequency of challenging orders that are in favour of the SC, ST and OBC communities has gone up. “The day we passed the law (amendment to the PoA act) someone went to court, thankfully the SC gave verdict in favour; but this has to stop,” he said.