In a landmark ruling on Thursday, the Supreme Court gave its nod to the sub-classification within Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) categories, allowing for a more nuanced allocation of reservation benefits in jobs and education. This decision aims to address the disparities within these historically marginalised communities by ensuring that the most disadvantaged groups receive a fair share of the benefits.
The landmark verdict was passed by the bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud by a 6:1 majority, with Justice Bela Trivedi dissenting. Six separate judgments were written. The verdict overrules the 2004 judgment of a five-judge Constitution bench in the case of EV Chinnaiah vs State of Andhra Pradesh.
What did the top court say?
The Supreme Court's 7-judge Constitution Bench has, by a majority decision, ruled that state governments can create sub-categories within Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) to allocate greater reservation benefits to certain categories. This bench overturned a 2004 judgment by a 5-judge bench in the EV Chinnaiah case, which had held that sub-categorization within SC/ST communities was not permissible.
What does this ruling mean?
According to the Constitution, the population is broadly divided into four categories based on caste: General, Other Backward Classes (OBCs), Scheduled Castes (SCs), and Scheduled Tribes (STs). With this new Supreme Court ruling, it will now be possible to create further sub-categories within SCs and STs. Subsequently, state governments will be able to grant greater reservation benefits to specific sub-groups within these communities.
Justice BR Gavai, in a separate but concurring opinion, stated that states should also exclude the creamy layer from SC-ST categories. In support of his judgment, he argued that it would be unfair to compare the children of the creamy layer (affluent class) within Scheduled Castes to the children of those engaged in manual scavenging in villages. Justice Gavai cited a quote from Dr BR Ambedkar, stating, "History shows that when morality faces the economy, it is the economy that wins.
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