On Thursday, January 9, the Supreme Court refused to entertain a plea seeking the exclusion of children of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) officers from Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) reservation benefits in Madhya Pradesh.
A Bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and Augustine George Masih remarked that determining whether individuals from the creamy layer who have already benefited from reservations should be excluded from future quotas falls under the jurisdiction of the executive and the legislature.
“The decision to provide reservations lies with the executive and the legislature. It is an enabling provision. Our view considers the last seventy-five years: those who have already benefited and are capable of competing on equal footing should be excluded from reservations. However, it is for the executive and legislature to decide,” the Court stated.
The petitioner requested the Court to direct the state to develop a reservation policy, emphasizing that recruitment was underway in 21 departments without excluding the creamy layer. The petitioner’s counsel argued that the High Court had hesitated to hear the petition and sought intervention, citing Vishaka and others v. State of Rajasthan, where courts provided interim guidelines in the absence of government action.
