In a landmark judgment, the Gujarat High Court confirms that individuals born into a Scheduled Caste retain reservation benefits for life, even if their caste is later excluded from the list.
The Gujarat High Court has delivered a significant ruling in the case of Employees' Provident Fund Organization v. Ranjit Vasantlal Makwana, deciding that individuals born into a caste specified as a Scheduled Caste at the time of their birth are entitled to lifetime reservation benefits. This decision comes even if the caste is later removed from the Scheduled Caste list by a Parliamentary amendment.
The case arose from the reversion of Ranjit Vasantlal Makwana, who was promoted within the Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) under the Scheduled Caste category, following the 2002 amendment that restricted the Mochi caste's Scheduled Caste status to specific areas in Gujarat. The EPFO argued that Makwana, whose caste was excluded from the Scheduled Caste list after his promotion, should not retain his reserved category benefits.
However, the High Court upheld the Central Administrative Tribunal's decision in favor of Makwana, asserting that the exclusion of a caste from the Scheduled Castes list is prospective and does not affect the vested constitutional rights of individuals born when the caste was recognized as Scheduled Caste. The court emphasized that a person's caste acquired by birth is a lifelong identity, granting them the associated constitutional rights throughout their life.
This judgment reaffirms the principle that rights conferred constitutionally cannot be divested by subsequent legislative amendments, safeguarding the reservation benefits for those who have already availed them. It underscores the court's commitment to protecting the interests of those who have historically faced social and economic disadvantages.
Bottom line:-
A person born into a caste specified as Scheduled Caste under Article 341 of the Constitution at the time of birth acquires a vested constitutional right to avail the benefits of reservation throughout their lifetime, even if the caste is subsequently excluded from the list of Scheduled Castes by a Parliamentary amendment.
Statutory provision(s): Article 341 of the Constitution of India
