New Delhi: In a landmark judgment, a seven-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that states are empowered to make sub-classification within Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes categories for granting quotas in jobs and education for the more underprivileged among the marginalized communities.
A bench, comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, Justice B R Gavai, Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Bela M Trivedi, Justice Pankaj Mithal, Justice Manoj Misra and Justice Satish Chandra Mishra, passed the verdict by 6:1 majority.
It was hearing 23 petitions, including the lead one filed by the Punjab government challenging a 2010 verdict of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
