NEW DELHI – The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a sub-classification would be permissible within reserved category groups for providing benefits of affirmative action.

A 7-judge Constitution Bench headed by CJI D.Y. Chandrachud overturned its 2004 Constitution Bench judgement, which ruled against giving preferential treatment to certain sub-castes within scheduled castes (SCs).

In 2004, a 5-judge Constitution Bench in E.V. Chinnaiah vs State of Andhra Pradesh case had held that the members of the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) form homogeneous groups incapable of further regrouping or classification.

The Chinnaiah judgement had said that to re-group the Scheduled Castes specified in the Presidential Notification issued under Article 341 of the Constitution would be tantamount to discrimination in reverse and would attract the wrath of Article 14 of the Constitution.

In 2020, a 5-judge bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra (now retired) opined that the E.V. Chinnaiah ruling is required to be revisited by a larger Bench saying that the benefit of reservation is not percolating down to the neediest and poorest of the poor.

The apex court was dealing with an appeal filed by the Punjab government against the ruling of the Punjab and Haryana High Court quashing the 2006 Punjab Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes (Reservation in Services) Act providing ‘first preference’ to Balmikis and Mazbhi Sikh castes under the SC quota.