CJI Gavai backs exclusion of creamy layer in reservation to scheduled castes

Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai on Sunday (November 16, 2025) affirmed that he is still for exclusion of creamy layer in reservations to Scheduled Castes.

Addressing a programme "India and the Living Indian Constitution at 75 Years", Justice Gavai opined that children of an IAS officer can not be equated with the offsprings of a poor agricultural labourer when it comes to reservations.

"I also went further and took a view that the concept of creamy layer, as has been found in the judgment of Indra Sawhney (vs Union of India & Others). What is applicable to the Other Backward Classes, should also be made applicable to Scheduled Castes, though my judgment has been widely criticised on that issue," Justice Gavai said.

"But I still hold that judges are not supposed to normally justify their judgments, and I still have about a week to go [retirement]," Justice Gavai further said.

The CJI said over the years, equality or women empowerment is gaining momentum in the country and the the discrimination which was meted out to them was strongly criticised.

He said before he is set to end his journey as the Chief Justice in a couple of days, the last function that he attended happened to be again at Amaravati of Andhra Pradesh while the first one after becoming the CJI was at his native place Amravati in Maharashtra.

Justice Gavai observed in 2024 that states must evolve a policy for identifying the creamy layer even among the Scheduled Castes (SC) and Schedule Tribes (ST) and deny them the benefit of reservation.