In Brief
The State of Punjab challenged a High Court decision striking down Section 4(5 of the Punjab Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes (Reservation in Services) Act, 2006, which reserved 50% of SC quota seats for Balmiki and Mazhabi Sikhs (more backward within SCs). A 5-judge Bench examined whether sub-classification of Scheduled Castes for preferential reservation violates the Constitution. The Court found E.V. Chinnaiah (2005 1 SCC 394), which prohibited such sub-classification, misinterpreted Indra Sawhney's permissive stance on backward-class sub-classification, and that recent constitutional developments (Article 342A insertion) and Jarnail Singh's creamy-layer reasoning supported reconsidering the restriction. The Court ordered referral to a larger Bench, holding that States may constitutionally sub-classify SCs based on comparative backwardness without wholly depriving other castes, to achieve equitable distribution of reservation benefits.
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