NEW DELHI: Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Wednesday quipped at a petitioner to organise public protests and demonstrations while rejecting his plea seeking mandatory rotation of seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Parliament and state assemblies.A bench of CJI Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana upheld the Allahabad high court order validating Section 9(1)(c) of the Delimitation Act, 2002, which provides for the identification of reserved constituencies in areas where the proportion of SC/ST residents is comparatively high.The Supreme Court, however, said the petitioner was free to approach public representatives and persuade them to adopt the principle of rotation."You are dialling the wrong number. This is a season of dharna, protest etc. You should also do the same," Bar and Bench quoted CJI Surya Kant as saying in a lighter vein."This is also a good ground for protest," he added.During the hearing, Justice Bagchi said that in a multiparty democracy, voters are expected to make electoral choices based on political ideologies rather than caste or religious considerations."In a political democracy, there are…
'Dialled wrong number': CJI's 'dharna' quip at man seeking rotation of SC-ST seats
In short
A three-judge Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant affirmed an Allahabad High Court decision rejecting a plea for rotating reserved legislative seats. Petitioner Jagdish Singh argued that reserving his constituency for nearly seven decades violated rights and requested a rotational mechanism comparable to those governing local panchayats and municipalities. The bench pointed out that general category candidates can contest non-reserved seats elsewhere and that voters should evaluate political ideology rather than identity. The court ultimately concluded that Articles 330 and 332 only govern seat proportions based on population, leaving delimitation procedures strictl…
Key points
- The Supreme Court ruled that formulating the methodology for identifying reserved legisla…: The Supreme Court ruled that formulating the methodology for identifying reserved legislative seats is strictly a policy matter for Parliament.
- Constitutional provisions under Articles 330 and 332 only prescribe the proportion of res…: Constitutional provisions under Articles 330 and 332 only prescribe the proportion of reserved seats based on population rather than mandating their rotation.
- The bench highlighted that general category candidates remain free to contest any non-res…: The bench highlighted that general category candidates remain free to contest any non-reserved constituencies in a multiparty democracy.