Supreme Court rules 'creamy layer' must be excluded from SC/ST reservations
New Delhi: In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court has mandated that the 'creamy layer' among Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) be excluded from reservation benefits. This decision aims to ensure that reservations reach those who are genuinely disadvantaged within these communities.
Currently, the 'creamy layer' concept applies exclusively to reservations for Other Backward Classes (OBCs). The Court’s judgment, delivered by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices BR Gavai, Vikram Nath, Bela Trivedi, Manoj Misra, and Satish Chandra Sharma, allows for the sub-classification of SCs and STs. Justice Trivedi was the sole dissenting voice.
The ruling requires states to develop a policy to identify and exclude the creamy layer among SCs and STs. Justice Gavai emphasized that this step is crucial for achieving true equality as guaranteed by the Constitution. He argued that individuals from SC backgrounds who have benefited from reservations should not be compared to those who have not received such benefits.
Justice Vikram Nath supported this view, asserting that the creamy layer principle applicable to OBCs should also be extended to SCs. Justice Pankaj Mithal proposed that reservations should be limited to the first generation, with subsequent generations not being eligible if the first generation has already benefited from them.
Justice Satish Chandra Sharma concurred with Justice Gavai, asserting that identifying the creamy layer within SCs and STs should be a constitutional imperative.
The ruling builds on the 2018 decision in Jarnail Singh v. Lacchmi Narain Gupta, where the Court had observed that applying the creamy layer principle to SCs and STs does not alter the Presidential List under Articles 341 and 342 of the Constitution. Justice RF Nariman, in that case, noted that the purpose of reservations is to uplift backward classes to ensure they can compete equally with other citizens, which is undermined if the creamy layer within these classes monopolizes reservation benefits.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
