CJI Gavai backs exclusion of creamy layer in reservation to scheduled castes
Amaravati, Nov 16 (PTI): Chief Justice of India BR Gavai on Sunday affirmed that he is still for exclusion of creamy layer in reservations to Scheduled Castes.
Addressing a programme "India and the Living Indian Constitution at 75 Years", Gavai opined that children of an IAS officer can not be equated with the offsprings of a poor agricultural laborer when it comes to reservations.
"I also went further and took a view that the concept of creamy layer, as has been found in the judgment of Indra Sawhney (vs Union of India & Others). What is applicable to the Other Backward Classes, should also be made applicable to Scheduled Castes, though my judgment has been widely criticised on that issue," Gavai said.
"But I still hold that judges are not supposed to normally justify their judgments, and I still have about a week to go (retirement)," Justice Gavai further said.
The CJI said over the years, equality or women empowerment is gaining momentum in the country and the the discrimination which was meted out to them was strongly criticized.
He said before he is set to end his journey as the Chief Justice in a couple of days, the last function that he attended happened to be again at Amaravati of Andhra Pradesh while the first one after becoming the CJI was at his native place Amravati in Maharashtra.
Justice Gavai observed in 2024 that states must evolve a policy for identifying the creamy layer even among the Scheduled Castes (SC) and Schedule Tribes (ST) and deny them the benefit of reservation.
Asserting that the Indian Constitution is not "static", Justice Gavai said Dr BR Ambedkar always considered that it has to be evolving, organic, and a state-of-the-art living document as Article 368 provides for the amendment of the Constitution.
"On one hand Dr Ambedkar was criticized that the powers to amend the Constitution are too liberal, and on the other hand, it was criticized that some of the amendments require ratification by half of the states, and two-third majority of the parliament, and it was difficult to achieve an amendment in this manner," he said.
According to him, DR Ambedkar’s addresses during the presentation of the draft Constitution in the Constituent Assembly are the most important speeches which every student of law should read.
Quoting Ambedkar he said equality without liberty will take away an incentive of a human being to excel in his life and liberty alone would lead to supremacy of the powerful over the weaker. The trinity of equality, liberty and fraternity would be necessary to take the country forward in achieving the social and economic justice.
He said it is because of the Constitution, India had two Presidents from among Scheduled Castes and also the incumbent is a woman from Scheduled Tribe.
"Coming from a humble background from a school, predominantly in a semi-slum area in Amravati, a municipal school, I could reach the highest office in the judiciary and contribute in my humble way to nation building only because of the Constitution of India,” Gavai said.
He said the Indian Constitution stands on the four pillars of justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity.
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Delhi CM Rekha Gupta accuses Mamata Banerjee of stalling SIR; TMC hits back
Kolkata (PTI): Alleging that her West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee had approached the Supreme Court to stall the SIR exercise to prevent the identification of infiltrators, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday claimed that the people of the state have made up their minds to dislodge the Trinamool Congress from power.
The TMC countered strongly, urging Gupta to "look into her own backyard" and accused her of making absurd allegations against the TMC government without checking facts.
Addressing participants at the 'Nari Sankalp Yatra' organised by the BJP's women's wing at Science City auditorium here, Gupta alleged that the "hands-off" and appeasement policies of the TMC government had allowed thousands of infiltrators to enter the state in recent years.
She claimed that this had put a strain on basic rights such as access to water, electricity, ration, education, livelihood and the right to vote for genuine citizens.
"She wants to perpetuate this and hence is trying to stall the SIR exercise, which aims at identifying and deporting infiltrators. Imagine a chief minister going to the apex court to argue against an exercise meant to ensure free and fair polls," Gupta said.
The BJP leader alleged that appeasement politics had reached an "alarming level" under the TMC regime.
Raising concerns over women's safety, she claimed that women in the state were not secure despite having a woman chief minister.
Referring to the rape-murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Hospital, Gupta alleged that the state government had failed to respond adequately to such crimes.
She also referred to the alleged rape of a woman medic in Durgapur and another law student on a Kolkata college campus, claiming that criminals had been emboldened to commit brutalities against women.
She alleged that in crimes against women, overall crime incidents and child marriages, West Bengal remained among the top -- "a slur on a state which once led intellectual and social movements and set examples for the rest of the country," she said.
Criticising the state government's welfare initiatives, she said schemes such as Kanyashree were built on "false claims" and asserted that women needed security rather than assurances.
Accusing the state government of blocking central schemes, Gupta alleged that funds worth "lakhs of crores of rupees" had not reached the poor due to non-implementation of programmes such as Ayushman Bharat, PM Awas Yojana and Jal Jeevan Mission by the state.
"You are only interested in renaming projects and taking credit," she said.
Gupta also alleged that the education sector in the state had been adversely affected, saying several state-run schools had closed due to a shortage of teachers and that the government was opposed to the National Education Policy.
Drawing a comparison with BJP-ruled Delhi, Gupta said, "People have already voted out 'Bhaia' (a reference to former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal). Now it is your turn to bid farewell to 'Didi'." Calling upon women to resist what she termed "strong-arm tactics", she urged them to assert their strength, invoking the imagery of Goddess Durga.
"Bengal has the right to live with dignity, and women have the right to live with dignity," she added.
Reacting to Gupta's allegations, West Bengal Women and Child Welfare minister Shashi Panja accused her of making "absurd allegations" against the Trinamool Congress government ahead of elections.
Panja alleged that during Gupta's tenure in Delhi, several incidents had raised serious concerns, including reports of missing young women and a blast near the Red Fort.
She also criticised the air pollution situation in the national capital, claiming that people were struggling to breathe.
The TMC leader said that despite being in power for a year, Gupta was making "tall claims" instead of addressing key issues in Delhi.
Panja further alleged that the Delhi CM visited West Bengal during elections to "peddle false allegations" against the state government.
Rebutting Gupta, the TMC said in a post on X said, "Madam why did you go off-script again? For your edification, here are the cold, hard facts: In total cases of crimes (IPC + SLL), Bengal ranks a respectable 15th, far safer than BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, which languish near the bottom."
"In overall crime rate, Bengal sits comfortably at 28th. Who's second? Your own Delhi. Double Engine Gujarat and Haryana grab 4th and 5th as top-tier crime havens," the TMC said.
"In child marriage, Assam again takes the shameful pole position. And yet you dare lecture Bengal? Stop embarrassing yourself, stop the hypocrisy, and maybe fix the rotting mess in your own backyard before pointing fingers at a state that's outperforming your disasters on every key metric," the TMC countered.
