Supreme Court seeks response from Centre on plea to exclude creamy layer from SC/STs

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought a response from the Centre to the pleas seeking a direction to lay down criteria for exclusion of the creamy layer of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes from availing the benefits of reservation in admissions and public employment.

A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and N V Anjaria was hearing the petitions filed by O P Shukla and the Samta Andolan Samiti seeking enforcement of the landmark judgement of August 1, 2024 on reservation.

The court asked the Centre to file its response on the pleas and said that they will be taken up after some time.

The creamy layer principle was laid down in the famous Mandal Commission judgement in Indra Sawhney case and under the principle, the affluent people among OBCs were barred from taking quota benefits in admissions and jobs.

In a landmark verdict, a seven-judge constitution bench headed by the then Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, by a majority of 6:1, held that states are constitutionally empowered to make sub-classifications within the Scheduled Castes (SC) which form a socially heterogeneous class, for granting reservation for the uplift of castes that are socially and educationally more backward among them.

Justice B R Gavai (since retired), who was also part of the majority opinion, had held that the "finding of M Nagaraj, Jarnail Singh and Davinder Singh to the effect that creamy layer principle is also applicable to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes lays down the correct position of the law".

Relying on the judgment, Shukla, sought a direction to the Centre and the states to "comply with the directions laid down by 7-judge constitution bench in State of Punjab & Ors Vs Devender Singh & Ors of August 01, 2024.

The plea sought a direction to the Union government and respective States to collect data on the inadequacy of representation of sub-classified Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the 'services of the Union/State' vis-a-vis the larger Class of Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe.

One of the pleas, also sought a direction to the Centre and states to "lay down the objective criteria for exclusion of the creamy layer from the SCs, and STs for the purpose of affirmative action".

It also sought fixation of timeframe so as to come to the aid of the more 'disadvantaged' status of the sub-group of SCs and STs to which such preferential treatment is sought to be provided.