The Supreme Court on Friday orally questioned the rationale of children of IAS and IPS officers seeking reservation benefits despite their families having progressed socially and educationally.
“If both parents are IAS officers, then why should they have reservation?” a bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan asked during a hearing, as it expressed concern over quota benefits being availed by the creamy layer within the backward communities.
Justice Nagarathna said: “With educational and economic empowerment, there is social mobility. In that case, to seek reservation for the children is not proper. We will never get out of this. We should be concerned about these things.”
The bench made the observation while dealing with an appeal by Ragavendra Chandranavar, an OBC candidate, challenging the denial of appointment as assistant engineer (electrical) with the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited under the OBC quota.
The District Caste and Income Verification Committee denied him a caste validity certificate after concluding that he fell within the creamy layer. Consequently, the caste certificate that was issued to the petitioner certifying him as a member of the Kuruba community was revoked.
He was denied appointment because his parents were in the state government service and the couple’s total salary exceeded the income cap of ₹8 lakh fixed by the State Backward Classes Commission to exclude the creamy layer from the benefits of reservation. Karnataka High Court had earlier dismissed the petitioner’s plea, aggrieved by which he filed the present appeal.
The counsel for the petitioner, however, argued that the annual salary drawn by the parents cannot be the sole criterion for determining whether a person belongs to the creamy layer. He said it has to be examined whether a person’s parents are holding Group A, B, C or D posts. It was argued that merely because a person’s parents were working in government service as peons or clerks, they cannot be excluded from the benefits of reservation.
The Supreme Court issued a formal notice to the Karnataka government for its response to the appeal.