Caste must not be allowed to divide us, whatever the circumstance: CJI, Pg10

Key Highlights:

• CJI Surya Kant emphasized that society should not be divided on caste lines following discussions on the Union government's caste census announcement.
• The government announced that a caste enumeration would be part of the next Census in March 2027.
• The remarks were made during a hearing regarding OBC political reservations in upcoming Maharashtra local body elections.
• Reservations in 57 of 288 municipal councils and nagar panchayats exceeded the 50% threshold set in K. Krishna Murthy v. Union of India.
• The court will allow the elections to proceed, but the 57 seats will be subject to the proceedings' outcome, and future elections must comply with the 50% ceiling.

Detailed Insights:

• The last caste census occurred in 1931, and the current government aims to ascertain the percentage of Other Backward Classes (OBC) in the population, relevant for Part IX of the Constitution concerning local self-governance in rural India.
• Local body elections in Maharashtra have been stalled since 2022 due to litigation over the implementation of the OBC reservation.
• The court is considering whether the 50% reservation cut-off in local bodies' elections should be referred to a Constitution Bench.
• The State Election Commission has been asked to provide a broad sketch of the percentage of OBCs in the 57 local bodies where the reservation threshold has been breached.
• The CJI stressed the importance of reviving institutions at the grassroots level, as they are currently run by bureaucrats due to the absence of elected representatives.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Caste Census: A process of enumerating the population based on their respective castes.
• OBC (Other Backward Classes): A collective term used by the Government to classify castes which are socially and educationally disadvantaged.
• Political Reservation: The allocation of seats in legislative bodies for specific groups or communities.