Bharat Bandh: Supreme Court Judgment That Triggered Nationwide Shutdown

At a time when the election for Jammu and Kashmir assembly has been announced and the states of Haryana, Maharashtra and Jharkhand are also likely to go to polls soon, a nationwide shutdown or Bharat Bandh is being observed on Tuesday, August 21. Reservation Bachao Sangharsh Samiti called for the nationwide shutdown to protest against the Supreme Court’s ruling on SC/ST reservations. Samajwadi Party, Communist Party of India (Marxist), and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) have extended their support to the strike.

What Did Supreme Court Say?

The apex court's verdict in State Of Punjab And Ors v Davinder Singh And Ors, has stirred debate on the sub categorization of SC and ST categories and that of creamy layer. The seven-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud said the states may create sub-classifications within the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes categories and fix quotas to the most backward communities within these categories. It also also said that the concept of creamy layer may be introduced to the categories of SC and ST.

Bharat Bandh: Apex Court Over-rules its own judgment

The apex court over-ruled the five-judge bench verdict of 2004 in the E.V. Chinnaiah vs State of Andhra Pradesh case. The court in that judgment held that no sub-classification of Scheduled Castes should be allowed as they are a homogeneous class in themselves.

Also Read: Bharat Bandh Today: Opposition Backs Supreme Court Reservation Ruling Protest

SC Favours Exclusion Of Creamy Layer

In the recent 6-1 landmark judgment of the bench comprising of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud,  Justices B R Gavai, Vikram Nath, Pankaj Mithal, Satish Chandra Sharma and Manoj Misra

said there must be a “rational principle” for such differentiation and the principle must have “a nexus with the purpose of sub-classification”. Four of the majority ruling judges also favoured excluding the creamy layer from SCs and STs.

What Does Constitution Say?

The Supreme Court verdict came in the wake of the fact that some groups within the SC list have been underrepresented compared to others despite the states having made attempts to extend more protection to these groups.

President is empowered under Article 341 of the Constitution to list as SC “castes, races or tribes” that suffered from the historical injustice of untouchability. Under Article 341(2) it has been said that only Parliament can include or exclude “any caste, race or tribe” from the list of SCs.

Also Read: Bharat Bandh On August 21: All You Need To Know About Nationwide Shutdown

The seven-member bench of the apex court also made it clear that “the State in exercise of its power under Articles 15 and 16 is free to identify the different degrees of social backwardness and provide special provisions (such as reservation) to achieve the specific degree of harm identified”.

What Did Justice BR Gavai Say?

Justice Gavai was of the opinion that equality of opportunity, guarantee under Article 16 should      also account for the varying social positions of different communities. He added that if the same opportunities are provided to SC communities that are on different footings it “can only mean aggravation of inequality”.

Comparing the SC communities that oppose sub-classification, Justice Gavai said their “attitude” is like to “that of a person in the general compartment of the train. Firstly, the persons outside the compartment struggled to get into the general compartment. However, once they get inside it, they make every attempt possible to prevent the persons outside such a compartment from entering it”.