The Centre on Monday told the Supreme Court that it would not have any objection if Scheduled Tribes' candidates contested from constituencies reserved for Scheduled Castes during the ensuing elections in Uttar Pradesh.
However, such concession might create considerable dichotomy in the long run as the STs, who are seeking such benefits, are at present availing various other educational and service benefits under the ST quota, Additional Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam told a Bench of Justices C K Thakker and V S Sirpurkar.
The Bench, which heard the arguments of the government and Senior Counsel Shanti Bhushan, who appeared for the petitioner Vijay Singh Gond and the Adiwasi Giriwasi Samiti Duddhi, said it would pronounce its interim order on Tuesday.
In his submission, Subramaniam told the Court that it would not be possible to provide for reservation of seats to the affected STs as the population of these tribes can only be authenticated in the next census schedule for 2011.
Senior counsel and former law minister Shanti Bhushan, arguing for Gond, a sitting MLA of the UP Assembly, complained that though there were 89 seats reserved for the SCs, not a single seat was reserved for the STs who constitute a large population in the state.