J&K govt. contradicts its public stand in reply to High Court on the reservation policy, stokes controversy-OxBig News Network

The ruling National Conference (NC) government’s official stand on reservation quotas in Jammu and Kashmir, submitted to the High Court here on Saturday, put the Omar Abdullah government in the dock for taking a position in complete contrast to the public stand adopted by his party.  

In the government’s reply to a petition seeking rationalisation of the revised reservation quota in J&K, the Social Welfare Department submitted to the court that “the petition is an abuse of judicial process, having been filed without any cause of action”. 

It informed the court that the petitioners “filed the present petition on completely false grounds in an attempt to deceive the Court”. “…the petition on the face of it is an attempt to abuse the judicial process motivated by ulterior and oblique motives. The petition, if allowed would set a wrong precedent, encouraging unscrupulous litigants, as in the instant case, dissipating the precious time and resources of the Honorable Court, by hoodwinking the Authority of the Court,” the J&K government’s reply said.

It sought dismissal of the petition “at the outset”. “The instant writ petition is not entertainable much less maintainable as the petitioners have no local standi to invoke the extraordinary writ jurisdiction of the Hon’ble Court,” the NC-led J&K government said.

The government faced a public outcry over the stand of the department, which is headed by senior NC leader and Minister Sakina Ittoo, who also heads a three-member Cabinet Sub-Committee on looking into reservation issues in J&K. The reservation quota revised following the Centre’s rule of J&K saw the open merit category reduced to 40%. 

“People should not pay attention to cheap politics. The affidavit filed in court is not the final word. If required, the government will submit another affidavit to clarify or rectify any issues. If the Omar Abdulah government formed a committee, it is with all seriousness. How the affidavit was presented to the court is a different matter. What’s important is that the government is committed and will submit its report on the reservation issue,” Ms. Itoo said.

She said the government was committed to submitting a report on the reservation issue within six months. “Reservation is a sensitive one (issue). Educated people are concerned about it. We update Mr. Abdullah daily on how many representations have been examined, progress made, and the expected developments,” Ms. Itoo said.

Meanwhile, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) legislator Waheed-ur-Rehmaan Parra accused the NC of backtracking on its promises. “If the government feels we need to file another affidavit saying the reservation is wrong, we will do it. This one line reveals everything — it admits that the current affidavit, filed in the High Court, does not oppose the reservation policy,” Mr. Parra said.

The affidavit was “not a mere clerical note but an official statement by the Deputy Secretary of the Social Welfare Department, led by Sakina Itoo-ji herself”, he said. “It not only defends the reservation policy introduced post-August 5, 2019, but also directly attacks the petitioners who challenged it,” Mr. Parra said.

The affidavit, Mr. Parra said, argued that the 50% ceiling on reservations set by the Hon’ble Supreme Court was “not an inviolable rule and may be breached in exceptional circumstances”. 

“This directly echoes the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party)-led Union government’s stance. A closer look at the affidavit may reveal even more surprises. Such a sensitive matter would require approval at multiple levels, including the political leadership and the Minister’s office. So, while the Abdullah-led government defends the BJP’s reservation changes in court, their ‘press conferences’ and ‘delegation meetings’ pretending otherwise insult the public’s common sense,” the PDP leader said.

“Not even a mention of the Cabinet Sub-Committee [in the affidavit]. Is the government not taking its own initiative seriously?” J&K Peoples Conference (JKPC) chairman and legislator Sajad Lone said, J&K Peoples Conference (JKPC) chairman and legislator Sajad Lone said, attacking the ruling NC.