New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India has agreed to hear a petition seeking inclusion of Pasmanda Muslims under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category for reservation benefits. During preliminary observations, the court noted that OBC classification is determined not only by social status but also by economic factors.
The petition was filed by Mohammad Wasim Saifi and came up for hearing before a bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant, along with Justice Joymalya Bagchi. Senior advocate Anjana Prakash appeared on behalf of the petitioner.
During the hearing, Prakash informed the court that a Constitution Bench is already examining broader questions related to additional reservation for OBCs and argued that the present issue could be settled within that framework. She said the petition stems from issues linked to an Andhra Pradesh case currently pending before a larger bench.
The Chief Justice questioned whether granting reservation to a specific sub-group within Muslims could potentially affect other economically disadvantaged Muslims. “OBC status is not based solely on social backwardness; economic status is also a relevant factor,” the bench observed, seeking clarity on data supporting the claim that Pasmanda Muslims are uniformly backward.
Prakash argued that the Muslim community in India is socially stratified into three broad groups, with Pasmanda Muslims forming the most backward section. However, the bench noted that backwardness cannot be presumed solely on religious or caste-based classifications and emphasized the need for empirical data.
The petitioner requested that the matter be tagged with the ongoing Constitution Bench case, State of Andhra Pradesh and Others vs. B. Archana Reddy and Others, which is examining the validity of a 4% reservation for Muslims under the socially and educationally backward classes category in Andhra Pradesh.
The court clarified that the Andhra Pradesh case does not specifically address Pasmanda Muslims and raised concerns about whether adequate research has been conducted to assess backwardness within the Muslim community as a whole.
The bench allowed the petitioner to submit a detailed note addressing these concerns and agreed to relist the matter after four weeks.
The plea also relies on recommendations made by the Ranganath Misra Commission, seeking a 10% sub-quota for Pasmanda Muslims within the OBC category.