Supreme Court To Hear Plea Seeking OBC Reservation For Pasmanda Muslims

A Public Interest Litigation has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking that 'Pasmanda Muslims' should be given reservations under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) Category. A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi briefly considered the PIL, filed by one Mohd Waseem Saifi, on Monday, seeking 10% reservation for Pasmanda Muslims by sub-categorizing the OBCs in terms of the Ranganath Misra Commission report.The CJI at the outset asked, "What about the other Muslim OBCs? ....OBC is not only a social status factor, but an economic factor is also there." Sr Advocate Anjana Prakash, assisted by Advocate Pradum Kumar, appearing for the petitioner, explained that in India, there were three categories of Muslims: the 'Ashraf' (upper class) and the remaining two lower classes. The Ashraf ancestry traces back to foreign lands. Prakash requested the bench to tag the present plea with another pending case State of A.P. & Ors. Vs. B. Archana Reddy & Ors, where a Constitution Bench is considering the issue whether Muslims in Andhra Pradesh can be given 4% reservation under the Socially and Educationally Backwards Classes. The said case is a 2005 appeal against the Andhra Pradesh High Court decision, which struck down the Andhra Pradesh Reservation of Seats in the Educational Institutions and of appointments/posts in the Public Services under the State to Muslim Community Act, 2005. The CJI interjected that first, the Court had to consider whether Pasmandas are statistically the only backwards classes. He remarked : "At the cost of other poor muslims, you only want to promote ...where is the homework on how many total muslims are backward?" Prakash urged the bench to adjourn the matter to file a note on the query raised by the bench. Considering the same, the bench has now relisted the matter after 4 weeks. Why The Petitioner Seeks Reservations For Pasmanda Muslims? The plea mentions the 2006 Sachar Committee, constituted under the chairmanship of Hon'ble Justice Rajindra Sachar the former Chief Justice of Hon'ble Delhi High Court. It was a High-level Committee which focused on Socio, Economic & Educational status of the Pasmanda Muslims in India. The petition explains that 'Pasamanda Muslims' denote the Backward (Ajlaf) and Dalit (Arzal) Muslim communities in India. It states that : "These groups are often artisans, weavers, butchers, and sanitation workers, and face social exclusion not only in society at large but also within the Muslim community, which is stratified into:Ashraf: Upper-caste Muslims (Syeds, Pathans, Mughals – traditionally ruling/elite class)Ajlaf: OBC Muslims (artisans, occupational castes) Arzal: Dalit Muslims (engaged in "unclean" or menial work)"The plea also states thats " nearly 80–85% of India's Muslim population, yet remain grossly underrepresented in education, employment, politics, and religious institutions, while Ashraf's dominate positions of influence." It was further highlighted that the Justice Sachar Committee's key recommendations were the establishment of an Equal Opportunity Commission to monitor and address discrimination against minorities, and the three groups among the Muslim Community (Ahsraf, Ajlaf, Arzal) require different types of affirmative action. The second group, ajlafs/OBCs, need additional attention which could be similar to that of Hindu-OBCs. The third group, those with similar traditional occupations as those of the SCs, may be designated as Most Backward Classes (MBCs) as they need multifarious measures, including reservation, as they are 'cumulatively oppressed. Notably, in 2007, the “Ranganath Misra Commission” was constituted under the Justice Ranganath Misra, the former Hon'ble Chief Justice of India. The commission was named the “National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities (NCLRM)”The following reliefs were sought by the petitioner : a.issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ directing the Union of India to implement the recommendations of the Sachar Committee; and/or b.direct the Central & State Governments to implement 10% reservation for Pasmanda Muslims as per the recommendations of Ranganath Misra Commission; and/ orc.direct the Respondents to establish a statutory commission to identify and ensure sub categorization and targeted representation of Pasmanda Muslims within the OBC and minority institutions framework;The petition was filed with the assistance of Advocate Vijay Kasana. Case Details : Mohd. Waseem Saifi v. Union of India & Ors.| W.P.(C) No. 230/2026

Supreme Court To Hear Plea Seeking OBC Reservation For Pasmanda Muslims

Anmol Kaur Bawa

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