{
  "id": 18134802,
  "title": "Supreme Court rejects plea for rotation of SC/ST-reserved seats in Parliament, Assemblies",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/04/supreme-court-rejects-plea-for-rotation-of-sc-st-reserved-seats-in",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-04T14:50:32.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Hindu",
    "slug": "the-hindu",
    "url": "https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/supreme-court-rejects-plea-for-rotation-of-scst-reserved-seats-in-parliament-assemblies/article71665561.ece"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On November 4, 2026, the Supreme Court declined to rule on a petition requesting mandatory rotation of constituencies reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in parliamentary and state assemblies. The court ruled that such decisions fall under the purview of the legislature and cannot be mandated by the judiciary.\n\nChief Justice of India Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana, refused to overrule the Allahabad High Court's decision affirming Section 9(1)(c) of the Delimitation Act, 2002. This section stipulates the identification of reserved constituencies where the proportion of SC/ST population is comparatively higher.\n\nThe petitioner, Jagdish Singh, argued that the prolonged reservation of his constituency had violated constitutional rights enshrined in Articles 14, 15, and 19. He contended that the lack of a rotation mechanism restricted voters' electoral options by limiting them to candidates from the SC community alone. Singh also claimed that the current arrangement favored a narrow spectrum of political families instead of serving the broader community's interests.\n\nJustice Bagchi, however, emphasized that in a democratic system, voters are expected to make choices based on political ideologies rather than caste or religious affiliations. She pointed out that in a multiparty democracy, multiple parties with diverse ideologies exist, and electors should vote for the party, not the candidate's religious or caste background. The court further reasoned that candidates from general categories could still contest from non-reserved constituencies.\n\nThe court also differentiated between the right to vote and the right to contest elections from a particular constituency. Singh argued that the petition should be directed to Parliament to review the reserving policy. The court suggested that the petitioner could pursue the matter through public protests and demonstrations.\n\nDespite these arguments, the Supreme Court dismissed the challenge to Section 9(1)(c) of the Delimitation Act, stating that such an order cannot be issued by courts and must be addressed by the legislative branch.",
  "summary": "In a lighter vein, the CJI remarked that the petitioner could also take up the issue through public protests and demonstrations",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 4,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Hindustan Times",
        "title": "‘Dialling the wrong number’: Supreme Court rejects plea for rotation of SC/ST reserved seats",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/04/dialling-the-wrong-number-supreme-court-rejects-plea-for-rotation-of",
        "published": "2026-11-04T09:31:02.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Middle East Eye",
        "title": "Palestine Action takes fight against UK ban to Supreme Court",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/04/palestine-action-takes-fight-against-uk-ban-to-supreme-court",
        "published": "2026-11-04T15:42:17.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Saudi Gazette",
        "title": "Al-Samaani underscores Supreme Court’s pivotal role in safeguarding judicial consistency",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/04/al-samaani-underscores-supreme-courts-pivotal-role-in-safeguarding",
        "published": "2026-11-04T15:43:52.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}