"Courts Strike Down Andhra Pradesh's 34% BC Quota in Local Bodies"
Vertical reservation
reservation for specific social categories like SC, ST, OBC/BC, subject to an aggregate ceiling
Horizontal reservation
a cross-cutting quota (like for women) that applies within each vertical category
India's system of vertical reservation (reservation for specific social categories like SC, ST and OBC) for local bodies comes from the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments. These amendments set up Panchayati Raj Institutions and Municipalities. These amendments require reservation for SCs and STs in proportion to their population. They also allow, but do not require, states to also reserve seats for Backward Classes (BCs) if the state legislature chooses to. Separately, one-third of all seats and chairperson posts are reserved for women. This applies across these other categories. This women's quota is a horizontal reservation. It applies within each vertical category rather than being an extra, independent block.
The Supreme Court set a ceiling on vertical quotas in Indra Sawhney v Union of India (1992). The Court capped total SC, ST and OBC reservation at 50% of seats. Exceptions exist only in extraordinary circumstances. This 50% rule has shaped almost every reservation dispute since. The 103rd Constitutional Amendment (2019) created a 10% EWS (Economically Weaker Sections) quota outside this ceiling rather than inside it. States wanting to raise OBC or BC quotas above what current SC/ST reservation already leaves room for have repeatedly run into this limit. Several states, including Maharashtra and now Andhra Pradesh, have had their enhanced local body quotas struck down by courts for this reason.
For local body reservations specifically, the Supreme Court has laid down a stricter three-part requirement. This is known as the triple test. First, a state must set up a dedicated commission to conduct a rigorous, empirical inquiry into political backwardness among BCs. This must be separate from any general survey. Second, that commission's own findings must be used to fix the exact proportion of reservation for each local body. The state must not apply one uniform percentage across the whole state. Third, total reservation for SC, ST and BC together must stay within the 50% ceiling. These three conditions exist because political reservation is treated differently from reservation in jobs or education. It concerns the structure of elected self-government. Courts demand specific, contemporary evidence of backwardness in political representation before allowing an enhanced quota. …
The 50% ceiling on aggregate SC, ST and OBC reservation was laid down by the Supreme Court in which case?
Consider the following statements regarding the 'triple test' prescribed by the Supreme Court for Backward Classes reservation in local body elections:
1.It requires setting up a dedicated commission for empirical inquiry into political backwardness.
2.It requires fixing a uniform reservation percentage across all local bodies in the state.
3.It requires that total SC, ST and BC reservation remain within 50%.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Which of the following statements about the 103rd Constitutional Amendment (2019) is correct?
With reference to reservation in Panchayati Raj Institutions, consider the following statements:
1.Reservation for women is mandatory and applies within categories reserved for SCs, STs and Backward Classes as well.
2.Reservation for Backward Classes in Panchayats is constitutionally mandatory in every state.
3.SC and ST reservation in Panchayats is linked to the period specified under Article 334.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
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