The Second Backward Classes Commission, popularly known as Mandal Commission and its report submitted to the Government of India on 31st December, 1980 and the purpose for which the Commission was appointed, viz., for early achievement of “the objective of social justice” enshrined in the Constitution. The order of the order implementing its recommendations stated that the Government have considered carefully, the report of the Commission and the recommendations of the Commission in “the present context” regarding the benefits to be extended to the “Socially and Educationally Backward Classes” (SEBCs) as opined by the Commission. The order further declares that the Government are of the clear view that at the outset “certain weightage is to be provided to such classes in the services of the Union and other public undertakings”. With this preface, the order proceeds to
(1) provide for reservation of 27% of the vacancies in civil posts and services under the Union Government to “SEBCs”;
(2) restrict the reservations to the vacancies to be filled in by direct recruitment only (and thus by necessary implication excludes reservations in recruitment by promotion);
(3) leave the procedure to be followed for enforcing reservation to be detailed in instructions to be issued separately;
(4) make it clear that those belonging to SEBCs who enter into services in the open i.e., unreserved category are not to be counted for the purpose of calculating the reserved quota of 27%;
(5) specify that in the first phase of reservation, it is only SEBC castes and communities which are common to both the lists given in the report of the Mandal Commission and the list prepared by the State Governments, would be beneficiaries of the reservations;
(6) state that the list of such common castes and communities will be issued by the Government separately;
(7) give effect to the reservation from 7th August, 1990; and
(8) explain that the reservation quota will apply not only to the services under the Government of India but also to the services in the public sector undertakings and financial institutions including the public sector banks;
This order was amended by the second order of 25th September, 1991. The first purpose of the amendment, as stated in the opening paragraph of the order is to classify the SDBCs into two categories, namely, SEBCs and the poorer sections of the SEBCs, and to give the latter the benefit of reservations on preferential basis. The second purpose is to carve out a new category of “Other Economically Backward Sections” of the people (OEBSs) which are not covered by any existing schemes of reservation, and to provide reservation in services for them. To effectuate these two objectives, the order provides that
(1) out of the 27% of the vacancies reserved for SEBCs, preference shall be given to candidates belonging to poorer sections of SEBCs. If sufficient number of candidate belonging to poorer sections of SEBCs are not available, the unfilled vacancies shall be filled by other SEBC candidates;
(2) 10% of the vacancies in civil posts and services shall be reserved for “Other Economically Backward Sections of the people” (OEBSs);
(3) The criteria for determining poorer sections of the SEBCs as well as OEBSs are to be issued separately.
The effect of the second order is to increase the reservations by 10% making the total reservations in the civil posts and services 59-1/2% (221/2% for SCs/STs + 27% for SEBCs + 10% for OEBSs)