Reservation should be only for the first generation, In a historic decision on reservation, the Supreme Court on Thursday approved the classification of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC-ST) under reservation. That means new quota can be created even within the existing quota. Also, the court has emphasized the need to identify the creamy layer and exclude it from the reservation of SC and ST category.
VIDEO | The Supreme Court allows sub-classification of SC/ST for reservation. Here’s what advocate P Venkatesan said informing about the judgement.
“Today, a 7-judge bench passed the judgement on sub-classifications. They have overruled a 2004 judgment in E V Chinnaiah vs State… pic.twitter.com/6LpK3CLXUK
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 1, 2024
The decision of the Supreme Court means that in the reservation given to SC and ST categories, sub-classification can be done to provide benefits to those classes which are deprived of getting the benefits of reservation of the same category. For example, the castes of SC category which have remained more backward and have not got the benefit of reservation, are not adequately represented in government jobs, they can be given priority in the same quota through sub-classification so that the benefits reach them and may they rise.
However, the court has said that for this, data indicating lack of adequate representation and backwardness will have to be collected. The second aspect of the decision is the creamy layer. In its decision, the Supreme Court has said that the creamy layer in the SC/ST category should be identified and it should be excluded from the benefits of reservation.
Till now the principle of creamy layer is applicable only in OBC reservation. The principle of creamy layer is not applicable in the reservation of SC-ST category, but after this decision, it has been said to identify and exclude the creamy layer in SC-ST category also, so that only the real needy get the benefit of reservation
Justice Mithal called for periodic review of reservation to find out whether the second generation is walking shoulder to shoulder with the general class. Justice Mithal was clearly told that reservation should be only for the first generation in any category. If the second generation has come then the benefit of reservation should not be given. Also, the state should see whether after reservation the second generation has come shoulder to shoulder with the general class or not.
Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said: It has been established from historical evidence that the Scheduled Castes notified by the President are a ‘heterogeneous class, not a homogeneous one‘. People from the SC ST community are often not able to climb the ladder due to systemic discrimination. Article 14 allows sub-classification of caste. The court must examine whether the class is homogeneous and whether a class that is not unified for any purpose can be further classified
What was the matter?
The apex court was hearing the matter in the context of reconsidering the 2004 five-judge Constitution bench judgment in the case ‘EV Chinnaiah vs State of Andhra Pradesh’. In this it was said that SC and ST are homogeneous groups. According to the judgement, therefore, the State cannot proceed on classification within SC and ST in order to grant quota within the quota to the more deprived and vulnerable castes within these groups.