INDIA BUSINESS WORLD - OCTOBER 21st - NOVEMBER 15th
- 2007
WILL CREAMY LAYER EVER ALLOW OBCS TO MOVE UP: SUPREME COURT
The Supreme Court has questioned the government's decision to provide reservation to the well off sections (creamy layer) of the OBCs in the premier educational institutions including IIMs and IITs. The non-exclusion of creamy layer from the purview of reservation will be disadvantegous to the deserving OBCs and may lead to clash in the society, said the apex court.
A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan said, "Will the creamy layer ever allow the disadvantageous class to come up? They are enjoying the cream. In short, creamy layer is like a higher caste who will not allow the really backward to come up."
"This will lead to a clash in the society. That is not the intent of reservation. This (reservation) is meant to bring up the most disadvantageous," the bench added.
The bench is examining the Constitutional validity of the Central Educational Institution (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006, providing 27% quota for OBCs in educational institutions. Such quotas has been extended for the well off sections of OBCs.
The Centre has said that the concept of the exclusion of creamy layer as evolved in the Mandal case is applicable for employment and not for education.
The bench questioned such policy of government when Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), a constituent of the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu through its counsel take a cudgel on behalf of the creamy layer OBCs. It apprhended that the exclusion of creamy layer from the purview of reservation in education will end up in the reserved seats remaining vacant.
The Bench allayed the apprehension that seats reserved for the OBCs in educational institutes may remain vacant if the "creamy layer" was excluded from enjoying benefits of reservation.
"Do you have an idea of how many applications reaches from backward class? It is much more than the seats for them," the bench, also comprising Justices Arijit Pasayat, C K Thakker, R V Raveendran and Dalveer Bhandari, said.
Senior advocate Ravivarma Kumar, appearing for PMK, said all the backward classes recognised by the state were not included in the Central list.
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