Former CJI Gavai Defends Applying Creamy Layer To SC Reservation, Had Faced Community Criticism

Former Chief Justice of India B R Gavai has said he faced widespread criticism from members of his own community after ruling that the “creamy layer” principle should be applied to reservations for Scheduled Castes, according to PTI.

Speaking at a lecture on “Role of Affirmative Action in Promoting Equal Opportunity” at Mumbai University on Saturday, Gavai paid tribute to Dr B R Ambedkar on his death anniversary and discussed the original intent of affirmative action.

“Babasaheb, in so far affirmative action is concerned, was of the view that it is like providing a cycle to those who are lagging behind....suppose somebody is at tenth km and somebody at zero, he (the latter) should be provided a cycle, so that he reaches faster till the tenth km. From there, he joins the person who is already there and walks along with him. Did he (Ambedkar) think that the person should not leave the cycle and carry forward and thereby ask the people who are at zero km to continue to be there?” Gavai asked.

“In my view, that was not the vision of social and economic justice as contemplated by Babasaheb Ambedkar. He wanted to bring social and economic justice in the real sense and not in a formal sense,” he added, reported PTI.

Gavai highlighted that the Indra Sawhney and Others Vs Union of India case first established the creamy layer principle and noted that in a separate judgement, he himself ruled that the principle should also apply to Scheduled Castes. The rule ensures that individuals who are economically and socially advanced within backward communities do not continue to receive the benefit of affirmative action.

The former CJI said he was “widely criticised” by his own community for this judgement and accused of exploiting reservation to rise to the Supreme Court before advocating the exclusion of the creamy layer. “But these people did not even know that there is no reservation for the constitutional office of High Court or Supreme Court judge,” he said.

He posed a question on equality under the Constitution, asking: “Can applying the same yardstick to the son of a chief justice of India or chief secretary and the son of a labourer who has studied in a gram panchayat school satisfy the test of equality as enshrined in the Constitution?”

Despite these challenges, Gavai acknowledged the role of affirmative action over the past 75 years. “I have travelled across the country, travelled across the world, I have seen many people belonging to the Scheduled Caste becoming chief secretary or director general of police or ambassadors and high commissioners,” he said, PTI reported.

Referring to Maharashtra as a land of social reformers, he said the state “can truly be described as the birthplace of the idea of modern India”. He paid homage to Jyotirao Phule and Savitribai Phule, noting their pioneering work in eradicating inequalities and opening the doors of education to women at a time when they were among the most oppressed in society.

(With inputs from PTI)