New Delhi: Tamil Nadu on Monday informed the Supreme Court of the difficulties in identifying the `creamy layer' among the Backward Classes for exclusion from reservation for jobs and in educational institutions. The State sought exemption from the directions given by the court in the Mandal case on `creamy layer.'

In its response to a petition filed by senior advocate K.M. Vijayan of Voice (Consumer Care) Council seeking exclusion of the `creamy layer,' Tamil Nadu submitted that the special leave petition filed by the State for exemption from the directions given in the Mandal case judgment was still pending in the apex court. In these circumstances the petitioner's allegation that the State had not so far identified the `creamy layer' to exclude them from reservation "deserves no consideration."

A Bench of Justice C.K. Thakker and Justice V.S. Sirpurkar, before whom the petition came up for hearing, granted two weeks to the petitioner to file his rejoinder. Voice in its petition submitted that Tamil Nadu by not identifying the creamy layer for more than a decade had literally affected the reservation for the needy lower strata.

The State had done great injustice to the really Backward Class citizens as the affluent classes in such Backward Class communities were taking away the reservation benefits in the field of education and appointments in State services.

Refuting the contention, the State said that the petitioner's allegation that failure to identify the creamy layer had worked against the really needy persons in the Backward and the Most Backward Classes was purely imaginary.

"No one in the list of Backward Classes and Most Backward Classes of this State has represented to this government that the non-exclusion of creamy layer affects their interest in getting the reservation benefit. The benefits are not denied to the needy classes in the fields of education and appointment in public services as alleged by the petitioner," the State said.

"It is incorrect to say that the State has not implemented the directions of this court in respect of exclusion of the creamy layer. In obedience to the directions [in the Mandal judgment], the State had approached this court to get exemption from the said directions."

On the allegation that a majority of the castes in the State had been included in the Backward Classes, the State said communities and castes were included on the recommendations of the Backward Class Commission after proper identification.

On the allegation that 80 per cent of the seats in professional colleges were being taken away by the Backward Class candidates, the State said such an averment was not substantiated by facts.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail