PANAJI
The High Court of Bombay at Goa on Thursday dismissed the two writ petitions that challenged the November 6 notification on reservation of Zilla Panchayat (ZP) constituencies in South Goa, effectively clearing the decks for the December 20 elections.
The Division Bench of Justice Sarang Kotwal and Justice Ashish Chavan held that the Goa State Election Commission (GSEC) and the Goa State Commission for Backward Classes had complied with the Supreme Court-mandated “triple test” for reserving seats for Other Backward Classes (OBCs). The court also ruled that the absence of a Scheduled Caste (SC) seat in South Goa did not violate Article 243-D of the Constitution, as the SC population was too small to justify a reserved seat.
In its detailed judgment, the Bench cited the report of the State Commission for Backward Classes, which claimed it had considered political backwardness data based on the past representation of the OBC Communities in the year 2007, 2012, 2017, 2022 of the Village Panchayat General Elections and as well as Zilla Panchayat General Elections 2010, 2015 and 2020. The inquiry focused on political backwardness distinct from mere social or economic backwardness.
“The data was rigorously examined by assessing the backwardness of the OBC community qua every individual Village Panchayat on the parameters of past representations, dominance and empowerment, literacy status and financial barriers,” it said as the High Court stated, “...as far as South Goa Zilla Panchayat was considered, the total percentage of OBC was 23.93 per cent. 93 per cent among OBC population was backward for this context. Hence, 22.25 per cent was the figure for backward population amongst this population.”
"Accordingly, the recommendation was for allotment of 5.23 per cent seats. “This was calculated with reference to a total of 25 seats. This recommendation was accepted and the reservations were made for South Goa Constituency, reserving 6 seats for OBC candidates including two women of OBC Community,” the Bench further said.
During the hearing earlier, Advocate General Devidas Pangam, appearing for the State, argued that under Article 243-D, reservation for SCs must be proportional to their population.
“If the population of SC is less than one per cent and the seat that is to be reserved by calculation comes to below 0.5, such a situation may permit the authorities not to provide for reservation,” Pangam said.
He added that the Panchayat Raj Act contains a provision enabling the SEC to co-opt a member if SCs or STs are not adequately represented. “So that provision is there in the Act,” he said.
The petitions had argued that Nuvem and Curtorim were wrongly marked as OBC constituencies and that of the five OBC seats, two should have been reserved for OBC women. The latter issue was rendered infructuous after the SEC issued a corrigendum reserving Raia for an ST woman candidate.
The Bench ruled that the data-driven recommendations could not be interfered with and rejected contentions that the report was hurriedly or mechanically prepared.
The High Court also cited Article 243-O, which bars judicial interference in electoral matters except through an election petition after the polls.
“In the present case, we do not find any extraordinary reason to go against the mandate of Article 243-O of the Constitution of India. We are not inclined to interfere by setting aside the impugned Notification. With the result, we do not find any reason to set aside the impugned Notification. Accordingly, the Petitions are dismissed and the Rule is discharged,” reads the 34-page order.
Pangam, thereafter speaking to the media, said the judgment confirmed that the State had withstood scrutiny on every issue.
“The political backwardness of OBC category people was looked into by the OBC Commission and thereafter by the GSEC. We have complied with the triple test laid down by the Supreme Court many years back. It looks like we have succeeded on all counts,” he said.
With the petitions dismissed, the reservation structure notified on November 6 remains intact. “Now the elections will be held on time and the reservations as provided have been upheld by the court,” Pangam said.
The AG clarified that while the government has approved the reservation setup, the formal election schedule will be issued by the GSEC.
“The notification can come any time before 15 days of the due date. It may come after the end of this month or on a later date, but it is up to the Commission. It is not in the hands of the government,” he added.
