Reservation benefits extension | SC gives Centre three weeks to clarify stand

A three-judge Bench led by Justice S.K. Kaul said the issue has widespread social ramifications.

The Supreme Court on August 30, 2022 gave the government three weeks to clarify its stand on whether reservation benefits enjoyed by Scheduled Castes can be extended to Dalit members of other religions.

A three-judge Bench led by Justice S.K. Kaul said the issue has widespread social ramifications. The petitions date back to 2018, and has been pending since in the apex court.

"Old matters are pending because there are social ramifications. We will have to face reality some time or the other," the Bench observed orally.

Among the petitions which came up for hearing is one filed by National Council of Dalit Christians (NCDC) which urged that reservation for government jobs and admissions in educational institutions should be made “religion neutral”.

Many of the petitions argued that Dalit Christians or Christians of Scheduled Caste origin should enjoy the same quota benefits reserved for Scheduled Castes.

These petitions had highlighted how paragraph three of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 restricts Christians of Scheduled Caste origin from availing the Scheduled Castes Status. It contended that this restriction was against the fundamental right to equality, religious freedom and non-discrimination.

In an earlier hearing, NCDC's lawyers, advocates Franklin Caesar Thomas and S. Gowthaman, had submitted that “change in religion does not change social exclusion. Caste hierarchy continues to hold fort within Christianity even though the religion forbids it”.