In Brief
This landmark Constitution Bench judgment addresses whether the Supreme Court's 2006 decision in M. Nagaraj on reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in promotions needs reconsideration. The Court upheld the constitutional validity of Articles 16(4-A) and 16(4-B), which enable reservation in promotions. However, it invalidated Nagaraj's requirement that States collect quantifiable data on SC/ST backwardness, holding that the Constitution presumes SCs and STs are backward once listed. The Court confirmed that the creamy layer principle validly applies to SCs and STs to exclude those who no longer require reservation, without violating the Presidential Lists. It declined to prescribe a fixed test for 'adequate representation' in promotional posts, leaving it to States to determine based on administrative efficiency.
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