A Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud on Wednesday decided to examine if clockwork extensions granted to reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in the Lok Sabha and the State Legislative Assemblies was constitutionally valid.
Originally, the Constituent Assembly under Dr. B.R. Ambedkar had meant reservation for SCs/STs only for a period of 10 years from the commencement of the Indian Constitution in 1950.
However, Article 334 of the Constitution, which dealt with the time period to cease reserving seats for SCs/ STs and Anglo-Indians, was amended multiple times over the decades. Everytime, the deadline to stop the reservation was extended by 10 years or so.
