Chinnaiah, which holds that Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes once classified are a homogenous class, is removed from social and economic reality. If the decision continues to operate, a large section of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes would be deprived of the guarantees under Articles 14 to 16. “They were not able to reap the fruits of reservation as there was an upper crust within Scheduled Castes, and most of the posts were reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. It further elaborated that backward classes under Article 16(4) do comprise some castes: “In our opinion, the decision is relevant for interpreting Article 16(4) provisions in their application to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and other backward classes. There are unequals within the list of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and socially and educationally backward classes.

Source: The Hindu September 12, 2020 01:18 UTC