The Supreme Court, on Thursday, deferred its decision on whether a state government possesses the authority to create sub-categories within Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes for the allocation of reservations in educational institutions and public employment. This issue was brought before a seven-judge constitution bench presided over by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud.
During the proceedings, various stakeholders including the Attorney General (AG) R Venkataramani, Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, and representatives from different states presented detailed arguments seeking a reassessment of the 2004 E V Chinnaiah verdict. This verdict had concluded that all Scheduled Caste communities, having suffered discrimination historically, formed a unified class and thus could not be further subdivided.
Apart from the Chief Justice, the seven-member bench comprised Justices BR Gavai, Vikram Nath, Bela M Trivedi, Pankaj Mithal, Manoj Misra, and Satish Chandra Mishra. Throughout the four-day hearing, the bench raised concerns about the potential consequences of sub-categorization, emphasizing the need for a balanced approach to avoid politicization and ensure equitable distribution of benefits.
The court heard approximately 23 petitions challenging the E V Chinnaiah judgement, which had prohibited any form of sub-classification within the Scheduled Castes, citing violations of Article 14 (right to equality) of the Constitution. Furthermore, the verdict clarified that only Parliament, and not state legislatures, holds the authority to exclude certain castes from the Presidential List under Article 341 of the Constitution.
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