Telangana to Establish Judicial Commission for Sub-Categorization of Scheduled Castes

Hyderabad, Oct  (IANS) The Telangana Cabinet Sub-Committee on Scheduled Caste (SC) sub-categorisation has decided to recommend to the State Cabinet to appoint a one-man judicial commission to study sub-classification within the SC reserved categories.

This was decided on Tuesday during the meeting of the Cabinet Sub-Committee, chaired by Irrigation and Civil Supplies Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy

The meeting was attended by ministers, including D Seethakka, Ponnam Prabhakar, D Sridhar Babu, and Damodar Rajanarasimha, Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari, Advocate General A Sudarshan Reddy and other senior officials.

The committee, which already held three meetings on this matter, resolved to use the 2011 Census data as the basis for the sub-categorisation. It has decided to recommend the constitution of a one-man judicial commission, led by a retired judge of the Supreme Court or High Court, to assess intra-backwardness among different castes within the SCs. Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy highlighted that this process must be legally sound and withstand judicial scrutiny.

During the meeting, the officials informed that the Advocate General had already given the draft terms of reference for appointing the judicial commission. It was also reported that various recruitment boards in the state, including TSPSC, TGLPRB, SCCL, MHSRB, and Transmission Corporation, have been directed to submit data on the sub-caste-wise employment of SCs. About 30 per cent of the required data from the Finance Department has already been gathered.

The committee was informed that 1,082 representations from communities, organisations, and individuals regarding sub-categorisation have been received, both online and offline.

Teams from the state have visited Punjab and Tamil Nadu to study the implementation of sub-classification in those states, while a visit to Haryana was postponed due to the enforcement of the model code of conduct.

Minister D Seethakka emphasised the need for a time-bound process to ensure the timely completion of the sub-categorisation study. Minister Damodar Rajanarasimha suggested that the committee visit key districts to directly engage with the public and gather their opinions on sub-categorisation.

He reiterated that the proposed judicial commission should ensure the concept of social justice and maintain legal validity.

Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy stated that the committee would soon visit several districts to gather public feedback on SC sub-categorisation. The analysis of the collected data may be assigned to reputable government organisations like the Centre for Economic and Social Studies (CESS) to ensure a thorough and impartial review.

The Telangana Cabinet Sub-Committee has also decided to recommend to the State Cabinet the conduct of a Backward Classes (BC) socio-economic survey alongside the enumeration of BC voters on a war footing basis.

The Cabinet Sub-Committee recommended the immediate commencement of both the BC socio-economic survey and voter enumeration to ensure completion within the stipulated deadlines. Both processes will be carried out simultaneously to meet the December 9 deadline set by the High Court.

Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy emphasised the importance of conducting the socio-economic survey of Backward Classes in line with resolutions passed by the Telangana Assembly and State Cabinet.

Additionally, the systematic enumeration of BC voters is necessary to ensure that the elections follow the legal framework set by the courts. He stressed that the data collected must be accurate to comply with the Supreme Court guidelines.

Senior officials in the meeting advised that a dedicated commission be set up to establish the political backwardness among BCs, which will help determine the appropriate percentage of reservations. Minister Ponnam Prabhakar suggested that the enumeration of BC voters and the socio-economic survey should be completed in a smooth manner.

The officials discussed the technical aspects of the survey, including the proforma, legalities, and nodal agency responsibilities. It was decided that a detailed recommendation would be presented in the next Cabinet meeting for final approval.

Minister Sridhar Babu urged the officials to ensure that the socio-economic survey is free of errors and that it aligns with the broader agenda set by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.