SC/ST quota: No plan for creamy layer, say govt
The government will not implement the Supreme Court's suggestion for a creamy layer in SC/ST reservations. The Cabinet announced housing and infrastructure projects.
New Delhi There is no provision for creamy layer in the reservations for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the Constitution, and the government is committed to upholding it, the Union Cabinet said on Friday, hinting that the Centre will not take up a suggestion by the Supreme Court to institute income-based exclusions in the quota.
The remarks by Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, while briefing the media about the decisions taken by the Cabinet, came days after several members of a seven-judge Constitution bench called on governments to evolve criteria to institute creamy layer within SC/ST quotas.
Vaishnaw said the government was dedicated to upholding the Constitution.
“The Supreme Court had pronounced a judgment regarding the reservation and made a suggestion regarding SC and ST reservation. Today a detailed discussion took place during the Cabinet meeting and the well thought through decision is that the NDA government is committed to adhering to the provisions of the Constitution formed by BR Ambedkar. According to BR Ambedkar’s Constitution, there is no provision for creamy layer within SC and ST,” Vaishnaw said.
The Cabinet also announced 10 million houses for urban poor and middle-class families under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban 2.0 scheme, financial assistance for the construction of 20 million houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Gramin (PMAY-G) during 2024-25 to 2028-29, eight new railway projects at a total estimated cost of ₹24,657 crore, a Clean Plant Programme (CPP) with an outlay of ₹1,766 crore to revolutionise India’s horticulture sector, and an extension of the PM Jeevan programme, which promotes production of ethanol from biomass.
The pronouncement came hours after leaders from the SC and ST communities from the Bharatiya Janata Party met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to urge the government not to implement the court’s suggestion. Allies such as the Lok Janshakti Party had also opposed the suggestion and announced that they would take legal recourse.
Currently, creamy layer is only implemented for other backward classes (OBC) quota, where people with more than ₹8 lakh in annual income cannot avail benefits.
On August 1, the Supreme Court ruled that state governments have the authority to create subclassifications within the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) for the purpose of preferential reservations. By allowing subclassification, the Supreme Court opened the door for states to identify and provide targeted benefits to the most disadvantaged sub-groups within the broader SC/ST categories, provided they base their decisions on empirical evidence and rational criteria.
The decision by a seven-judge Constitution bench was passed with a 6-1 majority. Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, and justices BR Gavai, Vikram Nath, Pankaj Mithal, Manoj Misra and Satish Chandra Sharma comprised the majority while justice Bela M Trivedi dissented.
The bench rendered six separate opinions. CJI Chandrachud wrote an opinion for himself and justice Misra while justices Gavai, Nath, Mithal and Sharma wrote separate but concurring opinions. Justice Trivedi’s dissenting opinion affirmed the 2004 Chinnaiah ruling.
But in his verdict, justice BR Gavai articulated the need for the exclusion of the creamy layer within SCs and STs from the benefits of reservation policies so as to ensure that the benefits of affirmative action reach those who are genuinely in need, rather than those who have already transcended their social disadvantages.
Historically, the Supreme Court had confined this principle to the OBCs, explicitly stating that it had “no relevance in the case of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.” However, justice Gavai challenged this long-held position, arguing that it is time to re-evaluate the exclusion of the creamy layer from SC/ST reservations in light of contemporary realities.
The judge’s opinion was supported by CJI Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, and justices Vikram Nath, Pankaj Mithal, Manoj Misra and Satish Chandra Sharma.
Though it was not an order and only a suggestion, the creamy layer discussion triggered an uproar and stoked anger among SC and ST communities.
In a post on X, LJP leader and Union minister Chirag Paswan said respecting the sentiments of millions of SC/ST people and those of his late father Ram Vilas Paswan, the PM accepted that even today discrimination was being carried out, and in such a situation provisions like creamy layer have no place.
“The Prime Minister has assured that the reservation provisions made by Baba Saheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar will remain the same. There will be no tampering with the reservation. After the Supreme Court’s decision, my party also expressed its strong opposition to this decision. In such a situation, we express gratitude for this historic decision of the Prime Minister,” he said in the post in Hindi.
Following the court’s observation, BJP leaders speaking on the condition of anonymity had said that while there was merit subcategorisation to ensure benefits of reservation percolate to the poorest and most marginalised, the issue of creamy layer will have an adverse impact. Several party leaders explained that the concept of creamy layer that is at present limited to the OBCs, will be opposed by the SC and STs that still face discrimination and exclusion.
The leaders also feared that the suggestion to implement creamy layer could have an adverse impact on the BJP’s outreach towards the communities and its electoral fortunes.
The Congress, on its part, had said that the Supreme Court suggestion reinforces the need for a nationwide caste census and the need to remove the cap of 50% ceiling on reservation through a constitutional amendment.