Telangana CM Revanth Reddy Announces New SC Sub-classification Following Supreme Court Verdict
On Thursday, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy announced that the state government will categorize SC sub-castes A, B, C, and D in accordance with a recent Supreme Court verdict. This decision includes implementing reservations for Madiga and Mala sub-castes in current job notifications.
Responding to the Supreme Court’s landmark verdict on SC sub-classification, Revanth Reddy stated in the Assembly, “In the context of the Supreme Court’s verdict on categorization, I recall that the previous government had suspended Sampath Kumar. On December 23, 2023, we sent Deputy CM Bhatti Vikramarka and Advocate General, Minister Damodar Rajanarsimha to the Supreme Court to argue on the categorization issue.”
He added, “Our efforts have borne fruit. We sincerely thank the Supreme Court’s Constitutional Bench for its verdict. In line with the Supreme Court’s verdict, the Telangana government will decide on categorizing A, B, C, and D. We will also ensure reservations for Madiga and Madiga sub-castes in the current job notifications. If necessary, we will issue an ordinance to this effect.”
Earlier, the Supreme Court ruled by a majority judgement of 6:1 that sub-classification within the scheduled caste and scheduled tribes (SC/STs) reservation is permissible. A 7-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud overruled an earlier judgement by a five-judge bench in the EV Chinnaiah matter, which had held that sub-classification was not permissible because SC/STs form homogenous classes.
Besides CJI Chandrachud, 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, in a dissenting opinion, said that she disagreed with the majority judgement.
The Seven Judge Constitution Bench was dealing with issues relating to the sub-classification of reserved communities like SCs and STs. CJI Chandrachud, while overruling judgement on Chinnaiah that held subclassification of the scheduled classes is impermissible, said that even at the lowest levels, the struggles with the class do not disappear with their representation.
Doubts Revealed
Telangana -: Telangana is a state in southern India. It was formed in 2014 when it separated from Andhra Pradesh.
CM -: CM stands for Chief Minister. The Chief Minister is the head of the government in an Indian state.
Revanth Reddy -: Revanth Reddy is a politician and the current Chief Minister of Telangana.
SC -: SC stands for Scheduled Castes. These are groups of people in India who are given special support by the government because they have faced discrimination in the past.
Supreme Court -: The Supreme Court is the highest court in India. It makes important decisions about laws and justice.
Verdict -: A verdict is a decision made by a court. In this case, it is the decision made by the Supreme Court.
Sub-classification -: Sub-classification means dividing a larger group into smaller groups. Here, it means dividing the SC category into smaller sub-castes.
Reservations -: Reservations are a system in India where a certain number of jobs or school seats are set aside for people from certain groups, like SCs, to help them get equal opportunities.
Madiga and Mala -: Madiga and Mala are two sub-castes within the Scheduled Castes in Telangana. They will get specific reservations in jobs.
6:1 majority ruling -: This means that 6 out of 7 judges agreed on the decision. One judge did not agree.
Chief Justice DY Chandrachud -: DY Chandrachud is the Chief Justice of India, the head judge of the Supreme Court.
Justice Bela M Trivedi -: Justice Bela M Trivedi is one of the judges in the Supreme Court. She did not agree with the majority decision in this case.
