Kerala High Court notice to State on NSS plea against sample survey to ascertain EWS among forward communities

The Kerala High Court recently issued notice to the State government on a plea seeking to restrain the government from conducting a sample survey to ascertain economic backwardness among forward communities. .Justice N Nagaresh admitted the plea on Tuesday and sought the response of the State government and the Kerala State Commission for Economically Backward Classes among Forward Communities. .The petition was filed by the Nair Service Society (NSS) challenging the proposed sample survey of the economically weaker sections among forward communities in the State of Kerala by the Commission.The petitioner-organisation claimed that the Nair community in Kerala have been suffering serious setbacks on the financial front but have not been able to avail reservation as they are a forward community. However, after the 103rd Amendment of the Constitution of India, members of Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) are now eligible for 10 per cent reservation under Articles 15(6) AND 16(6).Subsequently, the Kerala government constituted the Kerala State Commission for Economic Backward Class among Forward Communities chaired by Justice (retired) AV Ramakrishna Pillai in 2019. The earlier commission had recommended a socio-economic community survey of all the communities spanning the entire population of the State and to take population census of all the communities. The said recommendation is pending consideration before the government for orders and is still in force, the plea said.However, the recommendation of the present commission headed by retired District Judge K Sasidharan Nair runs contrary to the earlier commission's recommendation as it decided to conduct a random sample survey by collecting details of five families of forward communities in a ward. According to the petitioner, this was done for the purpose of submitting its report before the expiry of its tenure in March 2022.While the government is yet to take a decision on the earlier recommendation, it granted administrative sanction without permission to conduct the sample survey in lieu of the recommendation for an exhaustive survey by the earlier commission. .This prompted the NSS to approach the High Court by way of the instant petition which was filed through advocates KC Harish, RT Pradeep, V Vijulal and Bindudas M. The plea opposed the sample survey on the premise that it would bring out only a truncated and sketchy picture of the economically weaker sections among forward communities thereby defeating the objective of ensuring their welfare in the future as well."The sample survey would serve no purpose but would come out with a stale and inconsequential data. There is every chance of such inadequate data being anchored upon Government in future when there is no data in the manner suggested by the earlier commission. The sample survey is counter-productive which is likely to jeopardize the constitutional rights of economical weaker sections," the plea said.Further, it claimed that the committee has neither framed the criteria/indicators for determining backwardness of forward communities nor evolved a methodology for collecting the data. .On these grounds, among others, the petitioner has sought orders to quash the decision to conduct a sample survey and to conduct a socio-economic community survey of the entire population of the State and to take a census of all communities.