The Supreme Court has dismissed a batch of petitions seeking a review of its judgment that the more backward among the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes can be given preferential reservation in jobs and education by excluding the creamy layer.
The top court also rejected the plea for an “open-court” hearing of the review petitions.
Justice Bela M. Trivedi, who was the sole dissenting judge in the August 1 judgment, was also part of a seven-judge bench that dismissed the pleas seeking review of the majority verdict.
“Having perused the review petitions, there is no error apparent on the face of the record. No case for review under Order XLVV Rule I of the Supreme Court Rules, 2013, has been established. The review petitions are therefore dismissed,” the bench of Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud and Justices B.R. Gavai, Vikram Nath, Trivedi, Pankaj Mithal, Manoj Misra and Satish Chandra Sharma said in the order. The order was passed on September 24 and uploaded on Friday.
On August 1, the top court had held that the more socially and economically disadvantaged within the SCs and STs would be entitled to benefits of reservations over their other community members who are well off in terms of social and economic standing.
The apex court had passed the verdict while overruling a 2005 judgment of a five-judge Constitution bench in the E.V. Chinniah vs State of Andhra Pradesh wherein it was held that there cannot be any sub-classification within the SCs and STs.
