New Delhi. The Supreme Court has given a big decision on the reservation given to Scheduled Castes/Tribes (SC/ST Reservation). The court said that states can create quotas within the quota given to SC/ST category for the upliftment of the more deprived castes in their states. In this historic decision, the court has also talked about implementing creamy layer in SC/ST reservation. Out of the 6 judges who gave the decision in its favor in the Supreme Court, 4 have said so. However, till now the creamy layer system is applicable only in OBC reservation.
Apart from CJI DY Chandrachud, the constitutional bench of 7 judges of the Supreme Court included Justice BR Gavai, Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Bela M. Trivedi, Justice Pankaj Mithal, Justice Manoj Mishra and Justice Satish Chandra Mishra.
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‘This is the only way to have real equality’
Justice Gavai, who was part of this bench, said in his judgment, ‘The state should develop a policy to identify the creamy layer in SC/ST reservation and exclude them from its scope through positive action. This is the only way to achieve real equality.’
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‘Reservation should not be given to the next generation after one generation’
Justice Vikram Nath also agreed with this and said that the principle of creamy layer applicable to OBCs should also be applicable to SC/ST reservation. Justice Pankaj Mittal said that reservation should be limited to one generation. If one generation has reached a high status through reservation, then the next generation should not be entitled to it (reservation). Justice Satish Chandra Sharma has also supported this idea.
However, CJI DY Chandrachud and Justice Manoj Mishra, who are heading this constitutional bench, have not given any opinion in this regard.
A 7-judge bench of the Supreme Court was hearing 23 petitions on SC/ST reservation, the main petition of which was filed by the Punjab government, challenging the 2010 decision of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The CJI wrote the judgment on behalf of himself and Justice Mishra, while four judges wrote their respective judgments, while Justice Gavai gave a separate judgment.
Tags: SC Reservation, Supreme Court
FIRST PUBLISHED : August 1, 2024, 13:19 IST