Supreme Court upholds reservation for SC/ST sub-categories, states empowered to include sub-castes

NEW DELHI: Upholding the social equality in the Constitution, the Supreme Court has given a historic ruling that reservations can be given to sub-categories of SC/ST. Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud said that states have the power to include sub-castes in the reservation list. Chandrachud's seven-member Constitution Bench made it clear in the majority judgment (1-6).

SC/ST reservation should be made creamier and its criteria should be different from that of OBC. The sub-categories should be determined on the basis of accurate estimation of backwardness. It does not infringe on equality, powers of Parliament and equal opportunity in the Constitution. Priority for the most backward is the responsibility of the states. Meanwhile, the sub-category should not have 100% reservation.

The verdict was declared by the Chief Justice, Justices B R Gavai, Vikramnath, Pankaj Mittal, Manoj Mishra and Satish Chandra Sharma.

Justices B R Gavai, Vikramnath, Pankaj Mittal and Satish Chandra Sharma took a stand that reservation should be given only to the first generation of SC/ST and then the creamy layer should be excluded from reservation. Only by eliminating the creamy layer will the most backward of Scheduled Castes get the benefit. Only then can equality in the constitution be achieved. States should formulate policies for this. Chief Justice and Justice Manoj Mishra did not comment on this.