Kerala High Court Dismisses With 25K Cost The Plea Seeking Removal Of Muslims,Certain Christians From List Of Backward Classes And To Stop Govt Benefits To Them

The Kerala High Court recently dismissed the petition seeking a declaration to cancel the reservation and financial aid provided to Muslims, Latin Catholics, and other Scheduled Castes. 

Chief Justice S Manikumar and Justice Shaji P Chaly while dismissing the plea observed that the petitioner had not conducted proper research before filing the petition, and imposed Rupees Twenty Five Thousand Tcosts on the petitioner organization.

The petitioner is a registered Trust established to fight injustice against Hindu Community. Their primary contention was that Muslims and certain sections of Christians are provided with reservation in education and as well as in jobs under the State despite the majority of them not being socially or educationally backward. 

Advocate Krishna Raj appeared for the petitioner in the matter. It was submitted that Court should look into whether Muslims, Latin Catholics, Christian Nadars of all denominations can be treated as socially and educationally backward. Several social and educational indications were placed before the Court for further consideration. 

Contentions: 

The petition argued that the aforementioned reservation was made based on Articles 15(4) and 16(4), although these provisions were intended to protect the socially and educationally backward classes.  

It was asserted that either social backwardness or educational backwardness alone was not sufficient to consider a particular community for reservation under the State; one should qualify both the criteria to be eligible. 

The petition averred that both the State and Centre were providing huge incentives to Muslim students, because of which their educational status has increased. The number of educational institutions owned by the Muslim community would go to show that they are educationally, financially and socially forward compared to the majority of Hindus, the petition read.

Additionally, the petitioners submitted that reservation of certain sects of Christians was absolutely illegal and unjust since there is no caste in Christianity. They added that once a Scheduled Caste person converted to Christianity, he ceased to be a Hindu and therefore ceased to be a Scheduled Caste as well, and alleged that such reservation was effectively to encourage conversion.

Similarly, it was contended that while socially and educationally backward Hindus suffered untouchability in Kerala, neither the Muslims nor the Christians had any social backwardness when compared to the Scheduled Castes and backward Hindus. 

Another illegality pointed out by the petitioner was that according to the Centre, power to identify if a creamy layer of a community was included in the list of backward classes was assigned to an Executive Magistrate, not below the rank of Tahsildar. However, in the State, the same was done by Village Officers.

According to the Organisation, this was widely misused by the Muslim /Christian communities since they could suppress the fact that they were socially, educationally, economically and politically forward and get the reservation to which they are not entitled.

As such, the petitioner had prayed for a direction to declare that Muslims, Latin Catholics, Christian Nadars and Scheduled Castes converted to any denomination in Christianity are not entitled to be treated as backward classes/socially and educationally backward classes in the State.

An interim stay of operation and implementation of the list of backward classes/socially and educationally backward classes published in the Gazette was also sought for. 

Decision:

While imposing costs, the Division Bench declared that the amount shall be utilised to provide financial aid to children suffering from rare diseases in the State.

It was also held that when the Centre or State has already issued notifications declaring certain communities as minorities, Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes, backward classes/socially and educationally backward classes in the State and when the power of such declaration is conferred on the President of India, it was unclear as to how the petitioner has sought for a declaration from the Court under Article 226 to declare that Muslims, Latin Catholics, Christian Nadars, and Scheduled Castes, converted to any denomination in Christianity, are not entitled to be treated as backward classes/socially and educationally backward classes, in the State of Kerala.

"We are of the view that the instant writ petition has been filed without any research, as to the legal position in Maratha's case, which is binding under Article 142 of the Constitution of India. Petitioner has projected a case, as if a reservation is provided to the minority and other communities, in the State of Kerala, without any basis, and sought for a prayer to remove some of the communities from the list of backward classes/socially and educationally backward classes, on the grounds that their inclusion is contrary to the provisions of the Constitution," the Court ordered.

Case: Hindu Seva Kendram v. Union of India & Ors.

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