LI Network
Published on:19 July 2023 at 11:00 IST
The Supreme Court has imposed a penalty of ₹10 lakh on a petitioner who sought a special “neutral” bench, excluding judges from upper-caste and other backward classes (OBCs), to hear a reservation case pending before the Madhya Pradesh High Court. The appeal, titled Lokendra Gurjar vs State of Madhya Pradesh and ors, was dismissed by a bench comprising Justices Hrishikesh Roy and Pankaj Mithal on July 17. The Madhya Pradesh High Court had previously rejected the petitioner’s request, stating that it was an attempt to intimidate the court.
The division bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court had declined to constitute a special bench on March 20 to hear a series of petitions related to the quantum of OBC reservation in the state. Justices Sheel Nagu and Virender Singh, while dismissing an interlocutory application, stated that the demand for a neutral bench consisting of judges who do not belong to the OBC or unreserved categories was an endeavor to undermine the court’s authority and interfere with the administration of justice. The High Court emphasized its commitment to impartially adjudicating the matter without any bias or influence.
Consequently, the petitioner approached the Supreme Court, seeking intervention in the case. Currently, there are around 48 pending petitions related to OBC reservation in the Madhya Pradesh High Court. The court has previously stayed and invalidated increases in the OBC quota to 27% in educational institutions and public services since 2019. This has resulted in the introduction of new bills on the matter, forming the basis of the current batch of pleas before the court.
