The Supreme Court of India on Thursday mandated that states must identify the ‘creamy layer’ within the Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) and exclude them from reservation benefits. This directive was part of a ruling on the further sub-classification within these groups.
A seven-judge constitution bench, led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, ruled by a 6:1 majority in favor of allowing states to sub-classify SCs and STs to ensure that more backward castes within these groups receive quota benefits. The bench included Justices B.R. Gavai, Vikram Nath, Bela Trivedi, Manoj Misra, and Satish Chandra Sharma.
The court held that the principles of social equality permit states to offer preferential treatment to the most backward classes within the scheduled castes. While the bench delivered six separate judgments, the majority supported sub-classification, with Justice Bela Trivedi dissenting. Of the six judges, four emphasized the necessity of excluding the creamy layer.
Justice B.R. Gavai, in his judgment, stressed that states must develop a policy to identify and exclude the creamy layer among SCs and STs from affirmative action. He stated that this is essential to achieve “real equality” as envisioned in the Constitution.
Justice Satish Chandra Sharma concurred, noting that identifying the creamy layer within SC/STs is a constitutional imperative for the state. The ‘creamy layer’ refers to individuals within reserved categories who are socially and economically advanced. Currently, this concept applies only to the Other Backward Classes (OBCs), where households with an annual income exceeding ₹8 lakh are considered part of the creamy layer.
This ruling follows the Supreme Court’s 2018 judgment in Jarnail Singh & Ors. v. Lachhmi Narain Gupta & Ors., which extended the principle of the creamy layer, previously applicable to OBCs, to SC/ST communities for reservations in promotions.