NEW DELHI: A court verdict of 2006 had held that the ‘creamy layer’ concept cannot be applied to SC/ST persons for promotions in government jobs. The apex court had on July 11 refused to pass any interim order against its 2006 verdict and said that a five-judge bench would first see whether it needs to be examined by a seven-judge bench or not.
Attorney General KK Venugopal had said that the stigma and imprint of backwardness and caste remains with SC/ST community for centuries even if some of them have come up.
The AG’s statement was in response to the Supreme Court’s question whether affluent people among SC/ST can be denied quota benefits in promotion by applying creamy layer principle?
Even a well-off person of SC/ST community cannot marry from a higher caste. The fact that some persons have become affluent does not take away the imprint of caste and backwardness,” he said.