SC allows sub-groups among SCS/STS

NEWDELHI: Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (SC/ST) communities do not constitute a homogenous group and can be further sub-classified to ensure that the benefits of reservation in government jobs and higher education institutions percolate down to the weaker sections, the Supreme Court observed on Thursday in a ruling that could potentially have far-reaching political ramifications.

In the ruling likely to reignite the debate surrounding application of the so-called creamy layer principle to SC/ST groups, a fivejudge Constitution bench headed by justice Arun Mishra said that there are unequals within the list of SC/ST groups, necessitating their sub-classification, which state governments are entitled to do. The top court will also re-examine its 2004 judgment in EV Chinnaiah v. State of Andhra Pradesh case in which it was held that SC/STS form a homogenous class.

“The entire basket of fruits cannot be given to mighty at the cost of others under the guise of forming a homogenous class,” the bench observed.