Why in News/Relevance:
Supreme Court judgement on sub-classification of SC/ST, (State of Punjab vs. Davinder Singh, 2024)
Coverage:
General Studies- I: Society – Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India.
General Studies- II: Polity – Structure, organisation and functioning of the Judiciary
Answer Structure
- Introduction: Relevance of the case in the present context.
- Body: On what ground SC gave the judgement, i.e. legal basis and the Caste system as a social practice
- Conclusion: Social-cultural identity vs. Economic status
Answer:
The Supreme Court in the State of Punjab vs. Davinder Singh, 2024 (judgement on Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes sub-categorisation) held that the Constitution does not prevent the states from making sub-classifications. The SCs and STs are not homogenous classes, and the government has the power to classify them on the basis of some rational principle.
The Supreme Court’s above judgement intends to promote greater inclusion. Lack of representation is considered a cause of backwardness, which greater economic opportunities are intended to solve.
However, the judgement has ignored the fact that caste is a socio-cultural identity. In the same case, Justice Bela Trivedi, in her powerful dissenting opinion, recalled JJ Hunton’s (1931) statement that “depressed classes were those with whom contact entailed purification for upper caste Hindus and those who suffered social disabilities such as being denied access to temples, wells, schools and suffered the stigma of untouchability.”
The economically well-off and high-profile Dalits in India are not given equal respect.
Additionally, the very purpose of SC/ST reservation was not to enhance economic status but to achieve social justice.
The sub-categorisation is a laudable objective of substantive equality, In this case, the Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud underlined the concept of substantive equality, i.e., the principle of law that must take into account the different backgrounds and historical injustices faced by persons or groups.
The Supreme Court’s Judgment is certainly based on the correct interpretation of the Constitution, yet economic status has little to do with caste-based inequalities.
Caste is a permanent socio-cultural identity that is neither erased in one generation nor by the newly acquired economic status alone.
(The model answer provided by us strictly follows the word limit, the above answer is compiled in 270 words.)
Question Source: The Indian Express, 5th August,2024
