New Delhi: Supreme Court Chief Justice Surya Kant commented in a light-hearted manner on the ongoing protests in the country. During the hearing of a petition demanding change in reservation on Lok Sabha and Assembly seats, the CJI asked the petitioner why he had come to the court for this, he could have protested. On this, the petitioner's lawyer also jokingly said that he has no intention of protesting, anyway the petitioner has a sore throat.
What was the whole matter?
This case is related to 191 Kadipur assembly seat of Sultanpur district of Uttar Pradesh. A voter there has filed a petition saying that since 1952 till now this seat has been reserved only for the Scheduled Caste (SC). Changes should be made in this. The petitioner says that only people from the SC community have been contesting elections on this seat for the last seven decades. Only four-five families of the assembly constituency have benefited politically from this.
This petition was heard by the bench of CJI Surya Kant, Justice V. Mohana and Justice Joymalya Bagchi. CJI Surya Kant said in a joking tone, you are dialing the wrong number. This is a period of protests. Maybe you should do the same.
What was the argument of the petitioner?
The petitioner argued that non-implementation of the rotation system violates Articles 14, 15 and 19 of the Constitution. This also limits the voters' choices as the candidates come only from the SC community. On this, Justice Bagchi said that this argument is based on the assumption that the majority community will vote on the basis of caste. But it is not necessary. The court cannot pass any judgment regarding democratic options. It is for the voters to decide.
He said that the candidate's belonging to any community has no impact on his right to vote. Any person is free to contest elections from any place. If anyone wants, he can contest elections from another constituency also.
We are not the third house of parliament
The petitioner said that the rotation system is applicable in municipalities and panchayats, hence the same system should be implemented in Lok Sabha and Assembly. On this, Justice Bagchi said that local body elections work under a different structure of the Constitution. The court cannot rewrite constitutional provisions on this issue. The court said that it cannot play the role of the third house of the Parliament. It is the job of the legislature to decide.
CJI said, you have come to the wrong place. Nowadays there is a phase of protests going on. Maybe you should go there too. On the lawyer's reply, the CJI said, you can definitely raise your voice. One could argue that it is time for Parliament to revisit this issue. But only the legislature can do this work.