The Kerala High Court on Monday directed the State Election Commission to recast the reservation for offices of presidents and chairpersons for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and women following the principles of rotation.
Justice A. Muhamed Mustaque passed the directive while allowing a petition filed by Aboobacker Kanniyan of Manjeri and others challenging the legality of the consecutive or successive reservation for the offices of chairpersons and presidents in local bodies.
The court observed that successive reservation to the offices of the chairpersons and presidents overlooking the constitutional directives was illegal and unsustainable. It would deny the aspirations of the candidates of non-reserved categories to occupy the offices of presidents or chairpersons.
