UP OBC row
Supreme Court to hear UP govt's appeal over OBC quota row on Jan 4
New Delhi/UNI: The Supreme Court has said that on Jan 4 it will hear the appeal filed by the Uttar Pradesh government against the Allahabad High Court’s order to stay OBC (Other Backward Classes) quota in local polls in the state.
"We will take up the matter (Uttar Pradesh government's appeal) day after tomorrow (Wednesday)," the bench of the Supreme Court, headed by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chadrachud said.
The Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, senior law officer appearing for the UP government, told the bench of the Supreme Court that the state was asked to conduct elections without reservation for SEBCs.
"Please list the matter on Tuesday," Mehta pleaded to the apex court.
After hearing this, CJI Chandrachud, however, said, the matter will be taken up the day after tomorrow.
On Thursday, the Uttar Pradesh government knocked the Supreme Court's doors challenging the Allahabad High Court's order to stay the OBC quota in local polls in the state.
The Allahabad High Court, in its order on Dec 27, had said that the triple test formula not be applied which included appointing a commission, collecting quantifiable data of the community, allocate reservations to them in local bodies without exceeding 50 per cent total reservation.
The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court had said that until the “triple test/conditions” as mandated by the Supreme Court is completed in all respects by the state government, no reservation for the Backward Class of citizens shall be provided in the urban local body polls.
The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday, Dec 27, had quashed Uttar Pradesh's government's OBC reservation in urban local body polls and ordered the votes to take place without OBC reservation.
On behalf of the state government, it was said in the Supreme Court that they have constituted the OBC commission, in such a situation, the local body elections should be conducted after the report of the commission.
In the petition, the state government has urged to stay the decision of the High Court, to approve the conduct of elections only after the commission report.
The Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday constituted a Backward Classes Commission in the state.
The commission will be chaired by retired Judge Ram Avtar Singh.
An official statement issued by the Uttar Pradesh government said: “On the basis of the commission’s report, the backward class reservation will be decided for UP’s municipal body elections."
Former IAS officers CS Verma and Mahendra Kumar, former legal advisor Santosh Kumar Vishwakarma and former additional legal advisor and Additional District Judge (ADJ) Brijesh Kumar Soni are other members of the commission.
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