Supreme Court Allows Sub-Classification in SC/ST Reservations
Chief Justice DY Chandrachud Leads Decision
The Supreme Court of India has ruled by a 6:1 majority that sub-classification within Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) reservations is permissible. This decision was made by a seven-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, which overruled an earlier judgement by a five-judge bench in the EV Chinnaiah case. The previous judgement had held that sub-classification was not permissible because SC/STs form homogenous classes.
Besides Chief Justice Chandrachud, the other judges on the bench were Justices BR Gavai, Vikram Nath, Bela M Trivedi, Pankaj Mithal, Manoj Misra, and Satish Chandra Sharma. Justice Bela M Trivedi dissented, stating that she disagreed with the majority judgement.
The bench was dealing with issues related to the sub-classification of reserved communities like SCs and STs. Chief Justice Chandrachud noted that struggles within these classes do not disappear with their representation. Justice BR Gavai added that some categories within SC/STs have faced oppression for centuries and suggested that the state should identify the creamy layer among these categories.
Justice Trivedi, in her dissenting opinion, argued that states lack the executive and legislative power to sub-classify castes and the benefits reserved for the entire Scheduled Caste. She also mentioned that sub-classification by states would interfere with the Presidential notification under Article 341(2).
The Central Government supported sub-classifications among SCs and STs. The Supreme Court was examining the constitutional validity of Section 4(5) of the Punjab Act, which proposed that fifty percent of the vacancies reserved for SCs in direct recruitment should be offered to Balmikis and Mazhabi Sikhs, subject to their availability. The Punjab and Haryana High Court had struck down these provisions in 2010, relying on the EV Chinnaiah decision. The appeal against this judgement was referred to a larger bench in August 2020.
Doubts Revealed
Supreme Court -: The Supreme Court is the highest court in India. It makes important decisions about laws and rules in the country.
Sub-Classification -: Sub-classification means dividing a larger group into smaller groups. In this case, it refers to dividing Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) into smaller groups for reservations.
SC/ST -: SC stands for Scheduled Castes and ST stands for Scheduled Tribes. These are groups of people in India who have been historically disadvantaged and are given special help by the government.
Reservations -: Reservations are a way to set aside a certain number of jobs or school seats for people from specific groups, like SC and ST, to help them get better opportunities.
Chief Justice DY Chandrachud -: DY Chandrachud is the Chief Justice of India, which means he is the head judge of the Supreme Court.
Majority -: Majority means more than half. In this case, 6 out of 7 judges agreed on the decision.
Homogenous -: Homogenous means all the same. The previous judgement said that all SC/ST people should be treated the same without dividing them into smaller groups.
Dissented -: Dissented means to disagree. Justice Bela M Trivedi did not agree with the other judges’ decision.
Constitutional Validity -: Constitutional validity means whether something is allowed by the Constitution, which is the set of rules for how the country is run.
Section 4(5) of the Punjab Act -: This is a specific part of a law in Punjab that tried to reserve jobs for certain SC groups. The Supreme Court was deciding if this part of the law was allowed by the Constitution.