Supreme Court sets limits on using economic criteria to determine reservation eligibility
NS Supreme Court’s decision The economic criterion alone cannot be used to classify a member of a backward class as a ‘creamy layer’, adding an interesting nuance to the jurisprudence of affirmative action. There was a time when backwardness was mainly related to inadequate social and educational advancement of a group. since in court Indira Sawhney (1992), introduced the concept of ‘creamy layer’ – a term describing well-being among backward classes – and declared that this class should be denied the benefits of reservation, including groups based on social backwardness. The basic idea was to do a parallel exercise to exclude the more advanced of them. This position has crystallized into the law. Many support the formulation that once caste is accepted as the basis for determining backwardness, there is nothing wrong in excluding the affluent among the deserving castes. The Central Government has unreservedly accepted the ‘Creamy Layer’ rule, and has framed criteria to identify those who fall under the category. Proponents of the economic norm believe that genuine social justice means that the benefits of reservation should be confined to the poor among the backward; Whereas those who support the claim of backward class oppose the dilution of social base for reservation.
The latest decision of the court in a Haryana case rectifies a serious mistake of the state. It has struck down a notification fixing an annual income of Rs 6 lakh to find out whether a family belongs to the creamy layer or not. it was the opposite Indira Sawhney which spoke of various criteria, including children of high-ranking constitutional functionaries, employees of a certain rank in the central and state governments, rich enough to employ others, or significant assets and agricultural holdings and, of course, an annual income. identified. The Court observed that the Haryana criterion on the basis of income alone was contrary to its own law which specified that the creamy layer would be identified through social, economic and other factors. The Constitution through the First Amendment allowed reservation in government employment for the ‘Backward Classes’ along with special provisions in favor of ‘Socially and Educationally Backward Classes’. The judicial discourse introduced the concept of 50% cap and creamy layer as constitutional limits on reservation benefits. However, the 103rd Constitutional Amendment, by which 10% reservation for ‘Economically Weaker Sections’ (EWS) has been introduced, has significantly changed the affirmative action programme. The current income limit for availing both OBC and EWS quota is ₹8 lakh per annum, there is a strange and questionable balance between the OBC and EWS segments in terms of eligibility, even though the respective quota sizes differ.
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