Subclassification Of SC - ST And Its Fallout
Author: LawSphereX
Category: General Law
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SUBCLASSIFICATION OF SC/ST AND ITS FALLOUT
Himanshu, Bennett University
ABSTRACT
The overruling of E. V Chinnaiah case has opened doors for the state to subclassify the Scheduled caste and the Scheduled tribe for the purpose of reservation, on the positive side this decision can turn out to help the minority caste within the SC/STs gain equal representation politically, socially and economically, however this decision can also have negative impact such as social tension, administration complexities, increased discrimination. this manuscript will briefly analyse the consequences and impact that subclassification can have and also this manuscript aims to suggest some steps government can take to avoid such problems. On 1st August 2024, the Supreme Court of India delivered a landmark judgement by overturning the 2004 ruling of E. V Chinnaiah vs.
State of Andhra Pradesh1, allowing the state authority to sub classify the scheduled caste and scheduled tribe for the purpose of reservation. The scheduled caste(SC) and scheduled tribe(ST) are marginalised section facing immense social, financial, political disparity and having limited access to education, employment, healthcare and various other sector. The decision of the supreme court to subclassify SC/ST on the basis of backwardness can have potential consequences on the SC/ST caste. In this manuscript we will be looking into the consequences this judgement can have on SC/ST, and ways to control them.
Subclassification is a process of dividing group of people into further smaller groups2, SCs/STs have various categories within them that are recognised based on their customs, accordingly subclassification aims to divide these groups based on factors including socio economic status, representation etc, which will ensure that the marginalised groups within the SCs/STs receive sufficient representation in every section of the society.
1 E.V. Chinnaiah vs. State of Andhra Pradesh (2005) 1 SCC 394
2 Cambridge dictionary, https://dictionary. cambridge. org/dictionary/english/subclassifylast (last visited Oct. 11, 2024) The issue of subclassification became prominent when the Punjab scheduled caste and backward classes act 20063 mandated dividing its 25% SC reservation into two categories, category one included reserved seats merely for balmiki and mazhabi sikh communities as they were economically and educationally backward and the second category included the rest of the SC community, however in the year 2010 high court struck down this provision4, relying on the EV Chinnaiah judgement that said any attempt to create differentiation within SC list would violate the constitution provision. EV Chinniah judgement established that article 3415 of the constitution, which empowers the president to identify and notify SCs, was basis of reservation.
The issue of subclassification once again arose when a seven judge bench was initiated by a five judge bench in the case of State of Punjab v. Davinder Singh6, which led to Supreme court overturning the E. V. Chinnaiah vs. state of Andhra Pradesh7 and allowing state to subclassify reserved categories. 8 Analysing the Consequences (i) The Concept of Creamy Layer The supreme court of India recommended to subclassify SC/ST based on creamy layer, the concept of creamy layer first found its mention in the case of Indira Sawhney vs UOI 19929 (which is also known as mandal commission case), this concept was used for the OBC community to prevent the opulent within the community from getting benefits and the marginalised section within the community receive benefits.
10 The concept of creamy layer cannot be applied for the SC/ST caste due to various reasons: (a) Historical Oppression: SC/ST were subject to severe systematic oppression in the past which will make it difficult for the state to classify creamy layer and non-creamy layer
3 Punjab schedule caste and backward classes act, 2006, Acts of Parliament, 1949 (India)
4 Prashant Shekhar,’ SC verdict allowing for subclassification of SCs and STs explained pointwise’, Forum IAS ( October 8,2024, 10:00 pm) https://forumias.com/blog/sc-verdict-allowing-for-sub-classification-of-scs-andsts-explained-pointwise/
5 India Const, art. 341(1950)
6 State of Punjab vs. Davinder Pal Singh, (2024) INSC 562
7 E.V. Chinnaiah vs. State of Andhra Pradesh (2005) 1 SCC 394
8‘ SC allows for subclassification of SCs and STs’, Drishti IAS , (Sept. 20, 2024, 9:30pm), https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/sc-allows-for-sub-classification-of-scs-and-sts
9 Indira Sawhney vs. Union of India, (1992) Supp (3) SCC 217
10‘SC allows for subclassification of SCs and STs’, Drishti ias, (Sept. 22, 2024, 11:00am), https://www. drishtiias. com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/sc-allows-for-sub-classification-of-scs-andsts#:~:text=Overruling%20Previous%20Judgement%3A%20The%20Supreme,341%20of%20the%20Indian%20 Constitution in them. (b) Untouchability: Social and educational backwardness cannot be applied to the SC/ST while segregating them into creamy and non-creamy layer because the special treatment/reservation given to them was due to untouchability which they have been facing from the past. 11 (c) Lack of Representation: even after providing reservation to the SC/ST caste, various senior position which are reserved for them go unfulfilled. According to the data released by the government, SCs have occupied 13% and STs have occupied only 5.
5% of the Group A jobs, for teaching position SCs representation is 11% and STs representation is below 5%, the only job categories where the SC/STs have exceeded their quota percentage which is 15% for the SCs and 7. 5% for the STs is for the post of sanitation workers12. (d) Lack Adequate Data: The supreme court of India in the situation of Marathas and jats said that there is no enough empirical data to provide reservation, but in the matter of SC/STs they have done the exact contrary, they have given the judgement to sub classify them without using proper data of subjatis within the SCs/STs, which is unconstitutional. Without data no real image about the situation will emerge, hence making it difficult for the state government to subclassify SC/STs.
13 (ii) Frequent Conflicts: Subclassifying any SC/ST community without proper data can lead to severe conflicts among the caste as further segregation in the caste may lead to uneven distribution of reservation, If a marginalised community is added to the creamy layer or if any community feels that they are being neglected by the government ,they will develop a feeling of insecurity in them , which will further cause anger, leading to conflicts. the conflicts can range from peaceful demonstrations or to even violent clashes, these conflicts can lead to 11 Next ias current affairs team, ‘subclassification of SCs and STs for quota’, next ias, (Sept. 23, 2024, 7:00pm), https://www. nextias. com/ca/editorial-analysis/03-08-2024/sub-classification-of-scs-and-sts-for-quota 12 ‘TOI, creamy layer’ snatching job pie?
Data shows a chunk of SC/ST jobs remain unfilled each year’, The Economic Times, (Oct. 5, 2024, 9:14pm), https://economictimes. indiatimes. com/news/india/creamy-layersnatching-job-pie-data-shows-a-chunk-of-sc/st-jobs-remain-unfilled-eachyear/articleshow/112258001. cms? from=mdr 13 Sravasti Dasgupta, ‘Slicing the Pie: SC/ST Sub- Categorisation and Questions After the supreme court judgement’, The wire, (Sept. 11, 2024, 6:39pm), https://thewire. in/caste/slicing-the-pie-sc-st-sub-categorisationand-questions-after-the-supreme-courts-judgment disrupt to social order, economic losses to the country, repression further leading to human right violation.
For example on august 21 a nationwide strike called Bharat bandh took place which was organised by Dalit and Adivasi groups protesting against the ruling given by the supreme court of India to sub classify SCs/STs, the response for the protest varied from region to region, states like Gujrat and Bihar has significant disruption and states such as Rajasthan and assam had little to no impact14. (iii) Administration complexities: The sub classification of SC/ST presents serious administration complexities that can impact governance and social dynamics. Determining which community stands where requires empirical data, which many states lag and also ensuring that only deserving community gets the benefit of reservation involves meticulous verification process.
When the old policies are replaced with the new ones, there might be chances that the communities that received benefits from the older policies might lose it when the new policies are implemented. Way forward: The subclassification of SCs/STs has caused intense debate among leading experts and individuals and has also raised questions about growing inequality among the communities. The subclassification which is intended to increase the participation of the marginalised section in the community could potentially lead to some serious consequences such as frequent conflicts, administration complexities, social division and various other things, so to tackle these risks there are some steps that the government can take: -
1. While implementing policies the policy makers can involve members from every community
within the SC/ST, when members from each community are involved, they can give insights about the challenges their respective subgroup has faced, when the members from different communities are involved the policy process becomes more transparent and effective, which further prevents favouritism and corruption while allocating the resources. By involving 14 ‘Bharat bandh news live updates : bharat bandh fails to evoke much response in Punjab, Haryana, assam’ Times of India, (Sept. 29, 2024, 5:01 pm), https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/bharat-bandh-news-liveupdates-sc-st-reservation-quota-dalit-adivasi-groups-launch-nationwide-strike-in-delhi-karnataka-up-rajasthanbengaluru-bank-offices-bus-school/liveblog/112670959.cms members from different communities, the government can ensure that there is transparency, efficiency and clarity.
2 Collecting data
Before implementing policies, the government can assign a committee to gather data on the socio-economic status and representation of every community within SC/ST, this will help identify the disparities and help in effective implementation of the policies. The committee should gather data of large number of people from different communities to decrease the risk of sampling bias. Gathering data from a small crowd can cause inconsistencies.
3 Prescribing proper procedure
The government should prescribe a proper procedure to classify the creamy and non creamy layer in the SC/ST because a well defined procedure will prevent discriminatory practices in differentiating creamy and non-creamy layer, the government described procedure will give more transparency as the public will know what criteria is being used to classify the creamy and non-creamy layer and the government prescribed procedure can also ensure that the criteria that are being used to subclassify among the SC/ST are legally valid and are easy to enforce. The government should have constant check and supervision on it. Conclusion SCs/STs have faced severe discrimination in the past for which they were granted reservation under article 33215 of the Indian constitution. The subclassification of the SCs/STs is a complex issue which address realities of economic and social disparities.
While the intent behind the subclassification might be to increase the representation of marginalised groups within the SCs/STs, it also introduces new challenges and debates. The challenges include frequent conflicts, administration complexities and much more. Addressing the issues requires a balanced approach, the government should collect data of all the groups within the SC/STs so that it becomes easier for the policy makers to design policies effectively. the goal while subclassifying should be to create a framework that addresses both historical and ongoing injustice faced by SC/ST. to make this happen all the policy makers, activists, politicians, community members should work together, by doing so we move closer to making
15 India Const. art 332 (1950)
a world where each and every individual is contributing to nations growth regardless of their caste.