A petition has been filed in the High Court against Chhattisgarh Governor Anusuiya Uikey for stalling Reservation Bill in the state and seeking a direction to her to take a decision at the earliest.
Advocate Himang Saluja has filed a petition against Uikey calling her decision a “violation of the constitution” which is creating an “uncertainty” in the state over the rule. In the petition filed in the High Court, it has been said that the governor didn’t sign the bill even after the Assembly passed the Reservation Bill.
“On January 18, 2012, the state government had increased the percentage of reservations to 12 per cent for the SC category, 32 per cent for the ST category, and 14 per cent for the OBC category, which the Chhattisgarh High Court, while hearing various petitions, dismissed as unconstitutional.
After this, the Chhattisgarh government increased the percentage of reservations in the state to 76 per cent on the basis of population and other grounds. A 4 per cent reservation given for economically weaker sections is also included. According to the rules, after the reservation bill was passed by the assembly, it went to the governor for signature, but the governor did not sign it,” the petition said.
The petition also mentioned the governor’s statement in Rajarao Pathar village wherein she said, “I had only asked the state government to call a special session of the assembly to increase reservation for the tribals and the government did it for everyone.”
The petition also claimed that the government completed Uikey’s conditions of answering her questions. “Through several newspapers, information about the statements of the Governor was received that I have asked ten questions to the government on the reservation bill. If I get their answers, then I will sign the reservation bill. Now the government has given its answer as well. Still, the governor has kept the reservation bill,” it added.
Petition, while accusing ikey of working as a “member of a certain party” not as a Governor of the state, said, “She is not in the role of the Governor but in the role of a member of a political party. Maybe that’s why she is not signing the bill. Whereas according to the constitution, if the assembly passes the bill, then the governor has to give assent to it within the stipulated time.
The governor can return the bill to the assembly for reconsideration only once. And if the assembly sends it again to the governor with or without any kind of amendment, then he/she has to give approval within the stipulated time. But the governor is violating the constitution. Because of this, there is no information about the status of reservations in the state.”
The hearing of many petitions in the High Court has also come to a standstill because the percentage of reservations is not fixed in the state, it added.