CJI Gavai Reaffirms Push to Exclude ‘Creamy Layer’ From SC Reservations Before Retirement
The remarks restate a view at odds with the Union Cabinet’s 2024 position that the Constitution provides no creamy layer for SC or ST reservations.
Overview
- Speaking in Amaravati, Chief Justice B.R. Gavai said he still supports excluding better‑off individuals from Scheduled Caste quotas.
- He argued that children of an IAS officer cannot be equated with those of a poor agricultural labourer when allocating reservation benefits.
- Gavai cited the Indra Sawhney precedent for OBCs and said the same principle should apply to SCs, noting that his stance has been widely criticised.
- He recalled his 2024 observation urging states to craft policies to identify a creamy layer among SCs and STs and to withhold reservation benefits from them.
- The government’s 2024 clarification held that the Constitution does not contemplate a creamy layer for SC/ST reservations, and Gavai noted he has about a week before retiring as Justice Surya Kant is set to succeed him.