Bengaluru: A family repeatedly availing the benefits of the reservation is against the spirit and intention of the constitution, opined former Karnataka Lokayukta, Justice N Santhosh Hegde.

Speaking at an event organised by the Bharatiya Vidyabhavana here on July 30, Justice Hegde said, “The policy of reservation was included in the constitution to provide social, educational and economic justice to the historically marginalised communities. Those families who repeatedly avail these reservation benefits, deprive others of the same community who are more in need of it. So, once a family has availed the benefits, they should give a chance to the others to get the benefits.”

“During the framing of the Constitution of India, Dr. B R Ambedkar had said that the provision of reservations was to be in operation for ten years. He was of the opinion that all Dalit families would be able to avail these benefits within the first ten years,” he said.

The purpose of the reservation system seems to have been lost as lakhs of Dalits have still not seen social justice even though it has been 67 years since the republic came into existence, he lamented.

The former Lokayukta was speaking after having released a book titled “Balitha Dalithara Thulitha, Nanna Jana Anaatha” by Dr. Chi Na Ramu, a social campaigner. Retired Supreme Court judge Justice V Gopal Gowda, retired judge K Sridhar Rao, former union minister Sanjay Paswan, Neerakallu Shivakumar and others were present at this event.