No automatic SC/ST quota for those who relocate to another state: SC

Such reservation, the court said, must be provided on the basis of quantifiable data that indicates the adequacy or inadequacy of the representation of such classes in government service.
The Supreme Court of India (Photo | ANI Twitter)
The Supreme Court of India (Photo | ANI Twitter)

NEW DELHI:  A person belonging to a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe in a state cannot automatically claim the right to quota in another state upon relocation since reservation has geographic limitations, a five-member Constitution bench of the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday.

The mandate of Articles 341 and 342, for notifying classes as SC and ST, would get compromised if the special privileges granted to members of these communities in a particular state are to be made available in all states and if such benefits are to be carried from state ‘A’ to ‘B’ on migration, the bench headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi noted.

Such reservation, the court said, must be provided on the basis of quantifiable data that indicates the adequacy or inadequacy of the representation of such classes in government service. Recalling the history of the caste-based reservation system, Justice Gogoi noted that “the division of society based on birth, and the calling or profession of a person, has continued to dominate Hindu thinking and way of life.”

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