Supreme Court greenlights sub-categorisation of reservation
Image credit X.com
Supreme Court rules in favour of sub-categorization of quota in SC/ST category
By Our Special Correspondent
New Delhi, August 1: In a landmark judgment, the seven-bench Supreme Court has ruled in favour of the sub-categorisation of reservation for scheduled castes and tribes. Three judges of the bench also floated the idea of introducing the creamy layer in reservation in the SC and ST category.
The Supreme Court Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud headed bench pronounced the verdict on Thursday morning. The verdict overruled the EV Chennaiah judgment.
Watch: Budget Session of Parliament I लोकसभा अध्यक्ष ओम बिरला ने कहा, आपके पास कोई एजेंडा नहीं है I
Justice Bela M. Trivedi was the lone dissenter in the landmark judgment of the apex court. The verdict held that the sub-categorisation of reservation in the SC and the ST category doesn’t violate the Article 14 and Article 15 of the Constitution.
The apex court verdict also based the judgment that the reservation for the SC and the ST inherently enshrined the idea that the beneficiary communities are heterogenous in nature. The Supreme Court ruled that the states can go for sub-categorisation on the basis of quantifiable and demonstrable data.
Also Read: Counting climate change discordant notes
It cannot be on the basis of the whims of the state, added the apex court bench. The verdict also stated that the sub-categorisation doesn’t violate the Article 16 of the Constitution also.
Justice Vikram Nath, Justice B R Gawai, and Justice SC Sharma supported the idea that the concept of creamy layer be introduced in the reservation of the SCs and the STs on the lines of the Other Backward Castes (OBCs).
Justice Gavai in his concurring judgment stated that there are suggestions of limited benefits of reservation within the SCs and the STs, while arguing for the introduction of the idea of the creamy layer.
Watch: Wayanad Tragedy I 7 दिन की अग्रिम चेतावनी फिर भी 150 लोगों की जान चली गई I
At the same time, Justice Gawai stated that the sub-classes cannot be given 100 per cent reservation within the Sc and the ST quota as per Live Law.
The Supreme Court Constitution Bench judgment has come at a time when the Centre has already been given the Rohini Commission report on the sub-categorisation of the reservation within the OBCs. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has spoken positively for the sub-categorisation of the reservation benefits within the OBCs.
While former Bihar Chief Minister Karpuri Thakur had first introduced the idea of the sub-categorisation of reservation by creating a new class of extremely backward castes (EBCs), the demand for similar sub-categorisation is gaining grounds in other states such as Uttar Pradesh.
Join WhatsApp channel of The Raisina Hills
About The Author
