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Lok Sabha session: A Raja seeks safety measures to protect Dalit reservation
On August 1, Justice BR Gavai, in a judgement supported by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and four other judges, sought the exclusion of the creamy layer from the SC/ST quota.
Lok Sabha MP and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader A Raja on Tuesday requested the central government to ensure “safety measures” to protect reservation for Dalits. He made the request following a recent observation made by the Supreme Court that reservation should be limited only to the first generation.
“There are apprehensions among the Dalit people that the observation made by the SC may prejudice their rights... Even an IPS officer in Haryana was not permitted to sit on a horse for his marriage ceremony,” Raja said in the Lok Sabha.
His comments were in the context of the apex court calling for the identification of the creamy layer from the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) to exclude it from the benefit of affirmative action.
On August 1, Justice BR Gavai, in a judgement supported by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and four other judges, sought the exclusion of the creamy layer from the SC/ST quota.
The top court, in a verdict that will have far-reaching implications for reservation policies for marginalised communities, ruled that state governments have the authority to create subclassifications within the SCs and STs for the purpose of preferential reservations.
By allowing subclassification, the Supreme Court has opened the door for states to identify and provide targeted benefits to the most disadvantaged subgroups within the broader SC/ST categories, provided they base their decisions on empirical evidence and rational criteria.
