Reservation Business Has Become Like Train Journey, Those Already In Coach Don't Want Others To Enter : Justice Surya Kant

Justice Surya Kant of the Supreme Court, during a hearing, likened the reservation system in the country to a train journey, where people who have already secured the seats do not want others to enter the same compartment.

A bench comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice NK Singh was hearing the case related to the OBC reservation in the local body elections in the State of Maharashtra.

Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, for the petitioner, contended that the State's Banthia Commission gave reservations to the Other Backward Classes(OBCs) in the local body elections without ascertaining if they were politically backward. He argued that political backwardness was distinct from social and educational backwardness and OBCs cannot be automatically presumed to be politically backward.

At this juncture, Justice Surya Kant orally said : "The thing is, in this country, the reservation business has become like a railway. Those who have entered the bogie, they don't want anyone else to enter. That is the whole game. That is precisely the game of the petitioner also"

"And bogies are being added at the back also, " Sankaranarayanan added.

"When you follow the principle of inclusivity, the States are bound to identify more classes. There will be social backward class, politically backwards class, and economically backward classes. Why should they be deprived of the benefit? Why should it be confined to one particular family or groups?"Justice Kant orally said. Sankaranarayanan said that the petitioner was also raising the very same point.

During the hearing, the bench orally said that the long overdue elections to the local bodies in the State of Maharashtra cannot be delayed further because of the issue of OBC reservations. The bench deferred the hearing to hear the views of the State.

The elections were deferred after the Supreme Court in August 2022 ordered a status quo on the OBC reservations in the local bodies.

Case : MANGESH SHANKAR SASANE Vs STATE OF MAHARASHTRA | W.P.(C) No. 471/2025