Govt’s call to bar creamy layer from quota, says SC

It’s for the government and Parliament to decide if those from Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) who availed quota and were in a position to compete with others should be excluded from the ambit of reservation, the Supreme Court said on Thursday.

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Already given our opinion

We have given our view that taking into consideration the past 75 years, such persons who have already availed benefits (of reservation) and are in a position to compete with others should be excluded from reservation. Supreme Court

“We have given our view that taking into consideration the past 75 years, such persons who have already availed benefits (of reservation) and are in a position to compete with others, should be excluded from reservation. But it’s a call to be taken by the executive and the legislature,” a Bench of Justice BR Gavai and Justice AG Masih said. Currently, creamy layer criteria are applicable only to Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in order to exclude the well-offs among them from quota benefits in terms of the 1992 nine-judge Constitution Bench verdict in the Indira Sawhney case.

The top court’s comments came after an advocate representing a petitioner referred to the top court’s August 2024 verdict that favoured exclusion of creamy layer from the SC/ST reservation and sought a direction to the government to come out with a policy to identify such creamy layer.

Contending that the government would not frame such a policy, the counsel submitted that eventually the top court would have to intervene. However, the Bench said, “The legislators are there. The legislature can enact a law.” Refusing to entertain the petition, it allowed the petitioner to withdraw it.

Holding that SC/STs are not homogenous groups, a Constitution Bench had on August 1, 2024 ruled that the state can sub-classify the SCs and STs to ensure greater reservations for some groups over others in public employment and admission to government-run educational institutions.