Karnataka High Court Quashes Govt Notification For OBC, Women Reservation In BBMP Elections, Polls To Convene By Dec 31

A single judge bench of Justice Hemant Chandangoudar directed the State government to redo the exercise of providing reservation (posts) to women for BBMP councillor elections, by allocating seats in the descending order with respect to the wards having a greater percentage of women population.

The final notification providing reservation to SC/ST, Backward Classes and Women has to be published on or before November 30. The Karnataka State Election Commission has been directed to complete the election process within 30 days from the date of publication of final notification.

The bench held, "The Commission was required to conduct a rigorous investigation into the pattern of the backwardness that acts as a barrier to political participation which are indeed quite different from patterns of disadvantages in the matter of access to education or employment. Such an exercise is not forthcoming from the report submitted by the Commission of Enquiry nor any material is placed by the State Government that the Commission of Enquiry had conducted such an enquiry or the report was based on the empirical date furnished by the State Government."

Court held that the Commission was required to find out which of the communities are backward in the local bodies across State of Karnataka on the basis of empirical data and thereafter opine that providing reservation of 33% of total seats in favour of OBCs including the minorities in the local bodies is justifiable.

"The conclusion that large numbers of castes and communities come under the category of A and B of other backward classes and that they are still socially and politically backward is alleged to be based on the data pertaining to urban and local body elections held in the State of Karnataka in the year 1996, 2001, 2010 and 2015. The conclusion that 44% of the state population consists of backward class including minorities is imaginary and the same is contrary to the triple test enumerated in the case of K Krishnamurthy (supra)," Court added.

The Court also noted that the ratio of wards reserved for general and women in constituencies held by the ruling party is 1:1.9 and in constituencies held by the opposition parties the ratio is 1:2.6; whereas the notification provides for reservation of majority of the wards to women in the constituencies held by the opposition parties and the majority of the wards in the constituencies held by the ruling party are reserved for categories other than women.

This, the Court said, clearly indicates that the reservation of wards for women is arbitrary, and the majority of reservation of wards for women in constituencies held by the opposition parties is deliberate though the population of the women in wards in the constituencies is on the higher side.

On random allotment of seats to women and backward class, the bench said,

"The object of providing reservation to women is to encourage women to participate in political issues and have equal rights to contest the election to Councillors of BBMP and a sense of equality is maintained by creating such reservations for women. The reservation of majority of the wards for women in particular constituencies will deprive the women of other constituencies having larger population of women from participating in political issues and the same is arbitrary and discriminatory. To give representation proportionally to the women in all the constituencies, it would be appropriate that the reservation of wards for women is spread out proportionally."

Further it said, "Allocating of seats to backward classes is a statutory requirement and the same cannot be dispensed on the grounds of imminence of elections which would otherwise deprive them of participating in the decision making process of the BBMP. It is a settled law, that if a statute requires a thing to be done in a particular manner , the same shall be done in that particular manner and not otherwise."

It also observed that, "Elections are the essence of democracy and the elections which are long overdue has deprived the voters of Bengaluru City in electing their representatives, thus causing inconvenience and hardship."

The bench held that the impugned notification is in contravention of the triple test enumerated by the Supreme Court in the case of K.Krishnamurthy and reiterated in the case of Kishan Gawali (supra), and imminence of elections cannot be a ground to dispense with allocating seats to backward classes which is a statutory requirement.

Finally it directed the State Government to cooperate with the dedicated commission in furnishing the empirical data so as to formulate a report and submit the same to the State Government for publication of final notification by the date stipulated.

Case Title: V. SRINIVAS v. STATE OF KARNATAKA

Case No: WRIT PETITION NO.17191/2022

Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Kar) 386

Date of Order: 30TH DAY OF SEPTEMBER, 2022

Appearance: Senior Advocates Jayakumar S Patil, A S Ponnanna, Sandeep S Patil, K S Ponnappa and Advocate Jaya Movil, learned counsel appearing for the petitioners; AAG DHYAN CHINNAPPA, A/W R. SRINIVAS GOWDA, AGA FOR R-1 & R-2; V. SREENIDHI, ADVOCATE FOR R-3; K.N. PHANINDRA, SENIOR COUNSEL FOR VAISHALI HEGDE, ADVOCATE FOR R-4.

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