CM Omar Abdullah restores Darbar Move, vows to align reservation policy with Supreme Court ruling
Kashmir Pen News Bureau
Jammu, Nov 4: In a major development, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, while reviving the historic Darbar Move tradition in Jammu after a gap of four years, announced that his government will bring the Union Territory’s reservation policy in line with the Supreme Court’s 1992 Indra Sawhney judgment, which capped total reservations at 50 percent.
The Chief Minister made the remarks after formally reopening offices in the winter capital, asserting that the new government intends to ensure equity, merit, and constitutional balance in public employment and education.
The Indra Sawhney vs. Union of India judgment, delivered in 1992, upheld reservations for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in government jobs but imposed a 50% ceiling on total reservations. It also excluded in-service promotions from the purview of reservations and mandated the identification of a “creamy layer” within OBCs to prevent affluent groups from monopolizing benefits meant for the disadvantaged.
Omar Abdullah indicated that his government would soon place a Cabinet memorandum before the Lieutenant Governor to review and amend the existing reservation framework. The move is aimed at reversing the expanded quota introduced during the LG administration, which had raised the overall reservation percentage significantly—reportedly to around 67% in some categories.
Policy Highlight:
The proposed review will seek to restore the constitutional cap of 50%, ensuring both social justice and administrative fairness in recruitment and educational opportunities across Jammu and Kashmir | Kashmir Pen
