Bihar Minister Says Court Judgement On Scheduled Caste Vindicate State's Stand

A key aide of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday claimed that the Supreme Court judgement on sub-classifications within the Scheduled Castes for granting reservation for the uplift of castes that are socially and economically more backward vindicates the state government’s old stand.

State minister and JD(U) leader Vijay Kumar Chaudhary said that the Bihar government has already created sub-categories like ‘Mahadalits’ and ‘ati-pichda’ (extremely backward classes).

“These sub-quotas ensure that reservation benefits reach the most needy people. It is for the same reason that there is another category called ‘creamy layer’, which covers the relatively better-off people among SCs, STs and OBCs, who no longer require the facility. The Supreme Court's judgement vindicates the Bihar government’s old stand," the state parliamentary affairs minister told PTI.

'Creamy layer’ refers to a class of persons within reserved categories. who are socially and economically advanced. At present, the concept of 'creamy layer' is applicable only to the reservation for OBCs.

In a landmark verdict, the Supreme Court on Thursday held that states are constitutionally empowered to make sub-classifications within the Scheduled Castes, which form a socially heterogeneous class, for granting reservation for the uplift of castes that are socially and economically more backward.

A seven-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, by a majority of 6:1, set aside the apex court's five-judge bench verdict of 2014 in the EV Chinnaiah vs State of Andhra Pradesh case which had held that no sub-classification of Scheduled Castes (SCs) can be allowed as they are a homogeneous class in themselves.