LIPIKA DAS Vs. STATE OF MEGHALAYA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This case relates to reservation of seats in the matter of selection by the Government of Meghalaya for admission into graduate course in the Medical Colleges. The record produced by the Government of Meghalaya indicates that at the relevant time the Government of Meghalaya reserved two seats for Scheduled Caste and Other Backward Classes clubbed together. Two candidates belonging to Other Backward Classes, namely, Shrabani Paul and Bhawana Thapa, were selected by the Government of Meghalaya. There were two other candidates belonging to Scheduled Caste, namely, Krishna Das and Lipika Das. In the merit list, Krishna Das was at serial No. 4, and Lipika Das was at serial No. 6. Lipika Das has tiled this application under Art. 226 of the Constitution of India challenging the manner of reservation made by the Government of Meghalaya. Her case is that the reservation for the candidate belonging to Scheduled. Caste and Other Backward Classes should have been made separately, not clubbed together.

(2.) Article 46 of the Constitution runs -

(3.) In Balaji v. State of Mysore, AIR 1963 SC 649, and in Janki v. State of J. and K., AIR 1973 SC 930, it has been held by the Supreme Court that, in the circumstances of Art. 46, the words "educational and economic interests" and the words "in particular, of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes", it would be legitimate to infer that the expression "weaker actions" used in Art. 46 refers to Sections of people who, though they do not belong to Scheduled Castes or Tribes, suffer from backwardness similar to that of the Scheduled Castes and Tribes, owing to educational and economic reasons. The report of the Commission for the Scheduled Castes and also Backward Classes indicate that for reservation for admission into the graduate and post-graduate courses in the Medical Colleges should be for each of the communities. In the present case, no candidate belonging to Scheduled Caste had been nominated because the reservation for the Scheduled Tribe and Other Backward Classes was clubbed together. If there was separate reservation for each of the community, at least one of the candidates belonging to Scheduled Caste would have been scheduled. Non-selection of any candidate belonging to Scheduled Caste having the requisite qualifications is against the directive principle of Art. 46.