Objective of secularism is to reach classless society; non-religious category should not be denied EWS benefits: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court on Friday held that the State's endeavours to minimise inequality of income and opportunity should not be confined to considerations based on caste, creed and community alone [Nirupama Padmakumar v State of Kerala]..Justice VG Arun was considering a petition moved by several students who had declared themselves as 'non-religious' and were seeking admission to colleges under the Economically Weaker Section (EWS), not falling under the Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribe/ Other Backward Class categories..The Court said that the benefits of reservation guaranteed to EWS should not be withheld from the petitioners merely because they have chosen to declare themselves as not being part of any particular caste or community."The petitioners are not seeking any benefit for reason of their birth into any particular community or caste. They are only seeking the guarantee provided by the Constitution to citizens belonging to the economically weaker sections and not conferred with any reservation or other benefit by reason of being a member of SC/ST or OBC. The State has to strive to minimise inequality in income and should endeavour to eliminate inequality in status, facilities and opportunities among individuals. Such endeavours should not be confined to considerations based on community, caste or creed," the Court held in its order..The Court also reiterated its respect for the choice made by the petitioners to be non-religious, opining that it is a bold step towards the constitutional goal of secularism and classless society."As has been often held, the objective of secularism is to ultimately reach a classless society. The declaration by certain citizens that they and their progeny are non-religious can only be perceived as a bold step towards that constitutional goal," the order stated..The declaration by certain citizens that they and their progeny are non-religious can only be perceived as a bold step towards that constitutional goal.Kerala High Court.This sentiment was reflected from the beginning of the order itself where the judge posed this question:"Are, we the people of India, justified in denying equality of opportunity to the petitioners, whose parents imbibed the principle of secularism propounded by the Constitution of India and decided to bring up their children as non-religious citizens..?".The petition moved by the non-religious students stated that as per the 103rd amendment of the Constitution, the State government has been given the power to provide reservation to EWS persons who do not fall within the SC/ST/OBC categories.The plea pointed out that students who had declared themselves as non-religious but as falling under the Forward Community category were issued community certificates accordingly.The State government later issued a list based on the recommendation of the Forward Community Commission as per which only persons who declared their caste and community were included.Those who declared themselves as non-religious were not included in EWS for the purpose of education and employment by the State government..Upon going through the various constitutional provisions especially the preamble and Article 15 which forbids discrimination on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth, the Court ruled in favour of the petitioners. .It held that the petitioners are entitled to be issued with certificates enabling them to enjoy the benefits guaranteed under Article 15(6), if they belong to the economically weaker section. "In this regard, it is pertinent to note that Article 15(6) empowers the State to male special provision for the advancement of economically weaker sections of citizens other than the classes mentioned in Clauses 4 and 5. The provision does not require such citizens to be persons to be persons belonging to communities/castes other than SC/ST or OBC. The entitlement is based on the fact that such persons are citizens and not founded on those persons being members of any caste or community. In my considered opinion, this is what secularism is all about," the order stated..Therefore, the Court directed the Kerala Government to expeditiously formulate a policy for issuing community certificates to persons who belong to the non-religious category so as to enable them to avail the benefits available to Economically Weaker Sections. .Government claiming to be progressive cannot deny EWS benefits to persons who choose to be non-religious: Kerala High Court.Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.