PIL in Supreme court for exclusion of “creamy layer” from getting reservation benefits

A Supreme court bench comprising of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A M Khanwilkar and Justice D Y Chandrachud has asked the Union government to submit its reply with respect to a PIL that is seeking the exclusion of creamy layer among the Scheduled Caste and Tribe in getting the benefits of reservation. The PIL was filed by Samta Andolan Samiti, a body representing the scheduled caste and tribes and nine individuals belonging to the community. The petitioners contended that the benefits of reservation and other government schemes that are supposed to be given to SCs and STs were not reaching the actual beneficiaries due to the creamy layer in these communities which are relatively wealthier and or well educated. The petitioners also argued that the uplifted / advanced sections of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities are taking away the maximum benefit of these government schemes and because of this the 95% members of these communities are in a disadvantageous position. The PIL has been filed against the Department of Personnel and Training, Ministry of Law and Justice, Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, National Commission For Scheduled Castes National Commission for Scheduled Tribes. The petition further states that this non-exclusion of creamy layer from scheduled caste and the scheduled tribe is not only “ illegal, arbitrary and unjustified but is also in contravention to the basic structure of the Constitution” . The plea says that it violates Article 14, 15 and 16 of the Constitution of India that ensure the fundamental right of equality and social justice to all citizens of India, including protection of the actual backward and deprived within the SC/STs. The petition also highlights the fact that while making a provision for the reservation the intention of the framers of the Constitution was to ensure that these benefits are given to the right persons. It further says that despite the exhaustive list of SC/ST's, it is not insulated and the criteria for deciding backwardness may differ on a case-to-case basis.