Non-compliance of OBC reservation in Devaswom institutions: Explanation sought

KOCHI: A petition has been filed in the High Court against the non-compliance of backward class reservation in the appointments made by the Devaswom Recruitment Board to institutions under various Devaswom boards. Kavya Viswanath, a native of Kottarakkara and a member of the Ezhava community, who had applied for the post of primary teacher in a CBSE school under the Guruvayur Devaswom, approached the court through Advocate TR Rajesh. Justice N Nagaresh, who considered the petition, sought an explanation from the Devaswom Board. The appointment process will be subject to the court's order.

The petition states that although the reservation provisions for economically weaker sections have been explained in the recruitment notification, the reservation for the Scheduled Categories/OBCs has not been mentioned. However, the investigation revealed that the government had issued an order in 2024 allowing appointments to this category as well, following the PSC's reservation rotation. According to the rules, backward classes, such as Ezhava and Thiya, are eligible for a 17% reservation. However, the notification of the Recruitment Board states that the proposal to implement reservation has been submitted to the government and will be implemented as soon as it gets approval. The petition alleges that this is a new form of reservation sabotage and caste discrimination. The demand is that the appointment process be frozen until the reservation principles are ensured. The petition has been adjourned for consideration later.