In order to implement its decision on the controversial OBC reservation issue, the Centre on Thursday told the Supreme Court that it had identified the socially and economic backward classes (SEBC) for extending the benefits of quota in central educational institutions.

Appearing before a constitution bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan, Solicitor General G E Vahanvati said, “In the intervening period, the government has identified and determined castes which would be provided with the privilege of the 27 per cent quota meant for the other backward castes (OBC).”

Senior advocate K K Venugopal  who appeared for the anti-quota petitioners, contended that the act could not be implemented on the identification done on the basis of the 1931 census.

Creamy layer
The Centre had not excluded the “creamy layer” from the benefit of reservation.

He added that the government had failed to identify the socially and economically backward people.
Mr Venugopal stated, those among the backward castes who had derived the benefits of reservation for years had to be treated as a creamy layer.

This category, he said, included the children of bureaucrats, judges and other government officials. He remarked, “There is a government which does not want to touch them.”

The government had to  abide by the Constitutional provision of providing compulsory free education to the children up to 14 years. This had to be its priority, rather than providing reservation to a few students in the elite institutes.

The court has been hearing the issues in the petition on the Constitutional validity of the 93rd amendment, the provision of Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act 2006, providing 27 per cent reservation for other backward communities (OBCs) and the Centre’s power on implementing such a policy without any basis.