“Reservation In India Like Railway, Those Inside Don’t Want Others To Come In”: Supreme Court

Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Tuesday drew a striking analogy between India’s reservation system and a train compartment, suggesting that once people secure a place, they often resist others from joining.

The comment came during the hearing of a petition challenging the 27% OBC quota in Maharashtra’s local body elections.

A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and N. Kotiswar Singh was hearing a plea filed by petitioner Mangesh Shankar Sasane. His counsel, senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, questioned the basis of the OBC reservation granted by the state-appointed Banthia Commission.

He argued the commission failed to determine if the OBCs were politically backward, which is essential for granting electoral reservation.

Justice Kant responded sharply to the arguments, remarking, “In this country, reservation has become like a railway compartment—once someone is inside, they don’t want anyone else to get in. That seems to be the motive behind this petition, too.”

Sankaranarayanan replied that new compartments are being “added at the back,” pointing out that political backwardness cannot be assumed from social or educational status. He insisted that only OBC groups proven to be politically underrepresented should benefit from electoral quotas.

Justice Kant noted that inclusion is a key principle in reservation policies and said states are expected to identify new eligible groups over time. “There are socially backward, politically backward, and economically backward classes. Why should they be excluded? Why limit benefits to just a few?” he asked.

The court issued notice to the Maharashtra government and sought its response. The matter was tagged along with other similar cases already under consideration.

In a separate but related case, the bench directed the Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) to notify local body elections within four weeks, based on the status before the 2022 Banthia Commission recommendations. The court gave the SEC four months to complete the polls and allowed it to request more time if necessary.

However, the results of these elections will depend on the final decision in the ongoing legal challenges.

Back in August 2022, the top court had ordered a freeze on the local body poll process in Maharashtra, directing both the state and the SEC to maintain status quo until constitutional questions around OBC reservation were settled.