GS PAPER II: Functions and Responsibilities of the Union and the States, Issues and Challenges Pertaining to the Federal Structure, Devolution of Powers and Finances up to Local Levels and Challenges Therein.

Context: Supreme Court declares Maratha quota law unconstitutional

Views of the Supreme Court of India

• ‘States can only make suggestions to the President or the statutory commissions’.
• The Centre alone is empowered to identify socially and educationally backward classes (SEBC) and include them in the Central List for claiming reservation benefits.
• “The President (that is the Central government) alone, to the exclusion of all other authorities, is empowered to identify SEBCs and include them in a list to be published under Article 342A (1), which shall be deemed to include SEBCs in relation to each State and Union Territory for the purposes of the Constitution”
• The Central List is to be the “only list” for the SEBC.
• “Once published, under Article 342A (1), the list can only be amended through a law enacted by Parliament, by virtue of Article 342A (2),”
• In the task of identification of SEBCs, the President shall be guided by the Commission (National Commission for Backward Classes) set up under Article 338B; its advice shall also be sought by the State in regard to policies that might be framed by it,” the court said.
• The court asked the National Commission for Backward Classes to “conclude its task expeditiously, and make its recommendations after considering which, the President shall expeditiously publish the notification containing the list of SEBCs in relation to States and Union Territories”.

National Commission for Backward Classes

• India's National Commission for Backward Classes is a constitutional body (123rd constitutional amendment bill 2017 and 102nd amendment 2018 in constitution to make it constitutional body)
• (Article 338B of the Indian Constitution) under India's Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment established on 14 August 1993.
• It was constituted pursuant to the provisions of the National Commission for Backward Classes Act, 1993.
• The commission was the outcome of Indra Sawhney & Others v. Union of India

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/centre-alone-can-identify-sebc-supreme-court/article34493318.ece

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