Haryana govt has implemented sub classification of Scheduled Castes for job quota: CM Saini

Speaking in the Haryana assembly, CM Saini said, "Vidhan Sabha is in session and I thought it necessary that the house should get information in this session about the decision given by the Supreme Court a few days ago, which was already approved by our cabinet through this notification regarding classification of Scheduled Castes. The decision taken today regarding the classification of reservations for Scheduled Castes in government jobs in Haryana will come into effect immediately. And after five o'clock, the general public can follow it from the website of the Chief Secretary."

On August 1, the Supreme Court ruled by a majority judgement of 6:1 that sub-classification within the scheduled caste and scheduled tribes (SC/STs) reservation is permissible.

As many as six separate opinions were delivered in the case. The judgement was delivered by the seven-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud which overruled earlier judgments in EV Chinnaiah case which had held that sub-classification was not permissible because SC/STs form homogenous classes.

Besides CJI Chandrachud, other judges on the bench were Justices BR Gavai, Vikram Nath, Bela M Trivedi, Pankaj Mithal, Manoj Misra, and Satish Chandra Sharma. Justice Bela M Trivedi, in a dissenting opinion said that she disagreed with the majority judgement that sub-classification within the scheduled caste and scheduled tribes is permissible.

In a judgement written by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and Manoj Misra, they opined that Article 14 of the Constitution permits sub-classification of a class which is not similarly situated for the purpose of the law.

The Supreme Court opined the need of the identifying creamy lawyer in SC/STs as four out of seven judges of Constitution Bench suggested to exclude these people from the benefit of affirmative reservation. Justice BR Gavai had expressed his view that the state must evolve a policy for identifying the creamy layer for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/STs).

Additionally, the top court said that for a valid exercise of power to sub-classify under Article 16(4) it is required to collect quantifiable data with respect to the inadequacy of representation of the sub-categories in the services of the state.

Sub-classification within the Scheduled Castes does not violate Article 341(2) because the castes are not per se included in or excluded from the List, the top court has held.

The top court has said that sub-classification would violate the provision only when either preference or exclusive benefit is provided to certain castes or groups of the Scheduled Castes over all the seats reserved for the class. (ANI)