Supreme Court Bats for Excluding Creamy Layer among SC and STs from Reservation

Debayan Roy (Bar and Bench) 01 August 2024

Economy & Nation

In what could come as a significant development in the field of affirmative action, the Supreme Court on Thursday called for identification of creamy layer among the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/STs) to take them out of the fold of affirmative action (reservation).

Currently the principle of creamy layer applies only to Other Backwards Classes (OBCs) and not SC/STs.

However, four of the seven top court judges who were part of the bench which allowed sub-classification of SC/STs, also called for creamy layer identification among SC/STs, so that benefits of reservation reach only the backward among such communities.

Justice BR Gavai in his concurring judgment said that the ultimate aim of reservation is to realise real equality in the country and creamy lawyer among SC/STs should be identified and excluded from the benefits of reservation.

"State must evolve a policy to identify creamy layer among the SC ST category and take them out of the fold of affirmative action (reservation). This is the only way to gain true equality," Justice Gavai said.

Justice Vikram Nath too said the creamy layer principle applicable to OBCs should also apply to the SCs but the criteria for excluding creamy layer of SCs from the ambit of reservation could be different from that applicable to OBCs.

"I am also in agreement with the opinion of brother Justice Gavai that the creamy layer principle is also applicable to Schedule Castes and Scheduled Tribes and that the criteria for exclusion of creamy lawyer for the purpose of affirmative action could be different from the criteria as applicable to the Other Backward Classes," Justice Nath said.

Justice Pankaj Mithal also echoed similar sentiments holding that reservation should be meant for only the first generation among a category.

"Reservation should be meant for only the first generation among a category and if the second generation has come up then benefits of reservation shall not be given and State should see if after reservation, the second generation has come shoulder to shoulder with the general category," he stated.

Justice Satish Chandra Sharma said that identification of creamy layer among SC/STs must become a constitutional imperative.

Two judges on the Bench, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justice Manoj Misra did not express any opinion in this regard, while Justice Bela Trivedi delivered a dissenting judgment.

Pertinently, as reported by the Bar & Bench, the debate on continuing reservation for those whose one generation may have already benefited had also taken place during the hearing of the case in February.

“What happens is a person from Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe gets into IAS, IPS. Once he is an IAS or IPS or IFS, his children no more suffer the disadvantages that the persons from the category who are residing in the villages but then by virtue of reservation they are also entitled to get it in second generation or third generation,” Justice Gavai had said then.

Courtesy: Bar & Bench

Comments

User

rameshjrdhr5

7 months ago

This is a long pending issue to be resolved in the interest of all especially SCs & STs themselves.

angelo.extross

7 months ago

The pendulum is slowly but surely tilting towards "EBC" (Economically Backward Classes) from "SC/ST/OBC"

Meenal Mamdani

7 months ago

This judge, Bela Trivedi, from Gujarat, has delivered very questionable judgments in the past.
I think she was the one who said that economically weaker individuals, even if they belong to high castes, should be given preference in govt jobs.

ajeya

Replied to Meenal Mamdani comment 7 months ago

Giving priority to economically weaker section in SC/ST is the right decision, a dalit IAS officers son will beat a dalit servant's son even if former gets 1 mark more. Once a Dalit get benefit of reservation then keep his family out of reservation. In my village there are many who never got any benefit from reservation. The creamy layer in SC/ST cease all the benefit. In my view this is best decision.