Why in the News?
- The Supreme Court’s 7-Judge Constitution Bench ruled that sub-classification within SCs is permissible for equitable reservation distribution.
- This ruling overturns E.V. Chinnaiah v. State of Andhra Pradesh (2005), which held that SCs form a homogeneous group and cannot be sub-classified.
Key Highlights
- The Court emphasized that affirmative action must ensure fairness, and some SC groups face greater deprivation than others.
- State governments can create sub-quotas within SC reservations, provided it is backed by socio-economic data.
- The ruling allows periodic reviews of sub-classifications based on empirical evidence.
Challenges and Concerns
- Lack of caste census data makes intra-SC classification challenging.
- Political misuse of sub-classifications could lead to vote-bank politics.
- Implementation hurdles as states must justify sub-categorization with concrete data.
Way Forward
- Conduct a caste census for accurate data on disparities within SC groups.
- Establish a new SC Sub-Categorization Commission to ensure fair distribution of reservation benefits.