Syllabus: GS-I
Subject: Society and Social Justice
Topic: Welfare schemes, mechanisms, laws and institutions related to SCs.
Context: The Supreme Court’s Constitution Bench is examining whether affluent sub-castes within backward classes should be included in reservation policies.
Synopsis:
- Punjab’s 2006 reservation law, which gives preference to specific sub-castes within SCs, is under scrutiny.
- It argues that sub-classification improves equality by prioritizing the most marginalized groups.
- Supreme Court asked, why affluent sub-castes shouldn’t compete with the general category.
- It emphasizes the need to balance equality and affirmative action.
+1 Advantage (for Mains):
| In 2010, the State High Court struck down the provision in the E.V. Chinnaiah case, which held that only the President was empowered to categorize a group as SC under Article 341 of the Constitution. |
Article In News:
Article 341: It empowers the President of India to specify certain castes, races, or tribes as “Scheduled Castes” for the Constitution.
