SC Allows Sub-Classification in Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes Reservation

The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are not homogenous and can be sub-classified to give the more marginalised sections among the groups more weightage in reservations.

E.V. Chinnaiah Verdict Overruled

The bench, comprising CJI Chandrachud, Justices B.R. Gavai, Vikram Nath, Bela M. Trivedi, Pankaj Mithal, Manoj Misra, and Satish Chandra Sharma, penned six separate opinions, with six in favour of the sub-classification of scheduled castes to give the more deprived and weaker sections among them a better chance to get benefits of the reservations. 

The seven-judge bench headed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud overruled the E.V. Chinnaiah verdict, which had held that Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are homogenous groups, and hence, state legislatures cannot sub-classify them to grant reservations within reservations to the more backward sections among these groups.

The court had reserved its judgement on the case in February this year on pleas seeking review of the 2004 E.V. Chinnaiah verdict.

The Supreme Court judge, Justice BR Gavai, said that states must identify the creamy layers among Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and take them out of reservation.

The court said that sub-classification among the SCs and STs must be based on the degrees of their discrimination or backwardness, which can be done by states through the collection of empirical data on their reservations in admissions and public jobs. 

Lone Dissent

Justice Bela M. Trivedi, in her dissenting note, said that states cannot “tinker” with the Scheduled Castes list notified under Article 341 of the Constitution. She said that Scheduled Castes have a special status; they’re a homogeneous group brought to life through presidential notification and cannot be sub-classified. 

The court clarified that states cannot deprive quota benefits to any caste categorised as scheduled caste under the pretext of reserving opportunities for underrepresented groups in government jobs and educational institutions.

Current Reservation Status

In government-funded higher education institutions and government jobs, 22.5% of seats are reserved for SCs and STs. There is no ST population in Haryana and Punjab.