The Crossbill Team
A seven-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court on Thursday (August 1) approved sub-classification within Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe categories to allocate reservations in jobs and education for the more marginalized segments of these backward communities.
The bench, led by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, delivered the verdict with a 6:1 majority, with Justice Bela Trivedi dissenting. The other judges on the bench included Justices B.R. Gavai, Vikram Nath, Pankaj Mithal, Manoj Misra, and Satish Chandra Sharma.
The judgment overturns the 2005 E.V. Chinnaiah v. State of Andhra Pradesh ruling, which had determined that all Scheduled Caste groups under Article 341 were to be considered a homogeneous group. Article 341 authorizes the President to specify certain castes and classes as Scheduled Castes.
The case was referred to the current seven-judge bench by a five-judge panel in 2020, which observed that the E.V. Chinnaiah ruling had not accurately interpreted the Indira Sawhney v. Union of India decision.
The bench also addressed whether sub-classification within the reserved castes could be permitted. In his judgment, the Chief Justice of India noted that such sub-classification does not violate Articles 14 (which guarantees the principle of equality) and 341 of the Constitution, Live Law reported.
“There is nothing in Articles 15 and 16 which prevents the state from sub-classifying a caste,” the CJI said.
According to Live Law, the case originated from challenges to the validity of Section 4(5) of the Punjab Scheduled Caste and Backward Classes (Reservation in Services) Act, 2006. This section stipulated that 50% of SC-quota vacancies should be allocated to Balmikis and Mazhabi Sikhs. In 2010, a division bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court struck down this provision, basing its decision on the E.V. Chinnaiah ruling.
The bench, led by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, delivered the verdict with a 6:1 majority, with Justice Bela Trivedi dissenting. The other judges on the bench included Justices B.R. Gavai, Vikram Nath, Pankaj Mithal, Manoj Misra, and Satish Chandra Sharma.
The judgment overturns the 2005 E.V. Chinnaiah v. State of Andhra Pradesh ruling, which had determined that all Scheduled Caste groups under Article 341 were to be considered a homogeneous group. Article 341 authorizes the President to specify certain castes and classes as Scheduled Castes.
The case was referred to the current seven-judge bench by a five-judge panel in 2020, which observed that the E.V. Chinnaiah ruling had not accurately interpreted the Indira Sawhney v. Union of India decision.
The bench also addressed whether sub-classification within the reserved castes could be permitted. In his judgment, the Chief Justice of India noted that such sub-classification does not violate Articles 14 (which guarantees the principle of equality) and 341 of the Constitution, Live Law reported.
“There is nothing in Articles 15 and 16 which prevents the state from sub-classifying a caste,” the CJI said.
According to Live Law, the case originated from challenges to the validity of Section 4(5) of the Punjab Scheduled Caste and Backward Classes (Reservation in Services) Act, 2006. This section stipulated that 50% of SC-quota vacancies should be allocated to Balmikis and Mazhabi Sikhs. In 2010, a division bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court struck down this provision, basing its decision on the E.V. Chinnaiah ruling.
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