The Supreme Court recently refused to entertain a petition seeking directions to exclude children of IAS, IPS and similar officers from the ambit of reservation for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) in Madhya Pradesh.
The Bench of Justice BR Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih took into consideration the view expressed in the plea in the past 75 years, the persons who have already availed the benefit of reservation and were in a position to compete with others, should be excluded from the ambit of reservation.
It, however, observed that the decision regarding whether individuals belonging to the creamy layer, who had already availed quota benefits, should be excluded from reservation, fell within the purview of the executive and the legislature.
Highlighting that recruitments were ongoing across 21 departments in Madhya Pradesh without the exclusion of the creamy layer, the petitioner sought directions for the state to frame a policy on reservation.
The Counsel appearing for the petitioner informed the Bench that the High Court had shown reluctance to entertain the petition.
He sought intervention based on the precedent set by Vishaka and others v. State of Rajasthan, wherein courts framed interim policies in the absence of State action.
The Bench, however, reiterated that reservation was an enabling provision, adding that it was the prerogative of the legislature and executive to decide on such policies.
The Counsel apprised the Bench that a Constitution Bench had directed the States to formulate the policy, adding that almost six months had passed without any action.
After the Apex Court refused to pass any directions, the petitioner sought permission to withdraw the plea with liberty to file a representation before the appropriate authority.
The Court granted the request.
In August 2024, a seven-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court upheld the power of states to sub-classify reserved category groups, such as SC/STs, into different groups based on their inter se backwardness for extending the benefits of reservation.
Four out of seven judges in the verdict called for identification of creamy layer among SC/STs to take them out of the fold of affirmative action (reservation).
The principle of creamy layer currently applies only to Other Backwards Classes (OBCs) and not SC/STs.
Four judges on that Bench, however, called for creamy layer identification among the SC/STs, so that the benefits of reservation reached only the backward persons among such communities.
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