TOPICS
TO BE COVERED • SUB CATEGORISATION • LITHIUM RESERVES OF J&K • MCQs
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SUB CATEGORISATION
In a 6:1 landmark verdict, the Supreme Court on August 1 allowed the sub-categorisation of scheduled castes in reservations, allowing wider protection for underrepresented groups.
A seven-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud has thus ruled on whether sub-classification of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes is permissible for the purpose of reservation.
WHO CAN BE CATEGORISED AS MOST VULNERABLE?
Empirical data, “reasonable” grounds that will be subject to judicial scrutiny, avoiding the perils of “micro-classification” this is how the Supreme Court, in its verdict allowing subclassification within Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes quotas, has underlined the principles that will operationalise the new framework.
“State will have to justify that the group for which more beneficial treatment is provided is inadequately represented as compared to the other castes in the said List.” Justice BR Gavai
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CAN ALL THE SEATS RESERVED FOR SC/ST BE AVAILABLE FOR THE SUB-
CLASS?
The opinion also explicitly states how states cannot sub-classify the quota. “While providing for sub-classification, the State would not be entitled to reserve 100% seats available for Scheduled Castes in favour of a sub-class to the exclusion of other castes in the List,” the ruling stated.
THE BACKGROUND
In January, 2024, the seven-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice of India D
Y Chandrachud reserved judgment in the sub-classification among Scheduled Castes (SCs) case.
WHY WAS THE CASE FILED IN SC?
Some states have argued that despite reservation, some castes are grossly underrepresented in comparison with the so-called dominant Scheduled Castes. They want to create a separate quota for such castes within the SC quota of 15%, to ensure that the benefits are adequately distributed.
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EV CHINNAIAH V/S STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH: THE CASE UNDER
SCANNER
In 2004, a five-judge Constitution Bench in ‘E.V. Chinnaiah v State of Andhra Pradesh’ held that:
• Only the President could notify which communities could receive reservation benefits as per Article 341 of the Constitution, and that states did not have the power to tamper with this.
• In ‘E.V. Chinnaiah v State of Andhra Pradesh’, the Supreme Court struck down the Andhra Pradesh Scheduled Castes (Rationalisation of Reservations) Act, 2000 for being violative of the right to equality.
A number of states have now returned to the Supreme Court to argue against the Chinnaiah decision, claiming that states do have the power to make sure reservation benefits are distributed to communities that need them the most EARLIER ATTEMPTS OF SUB CATEGORISATION
• SUB CATEGORISATION IN PUNJAB:
In 1975, the Punjab government issued a notification dividing its SC reservation at that time into two categories.
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• In the first category, seats were reserved solely for the Balmiki and Mazhabi Sikh communities. Under the policy, they were to be given first preference for reservation in education and public employment.
• The second category consisted of the rest of the SC communities.
•
SUB CATEGORISATION IN ANDHRA PRADESH:
The Andhra Pradesh Govt. passed The Andhra Pradesh Scheduled Castes (Rationalisation of Reservations) Act, 2000. The law contained an expansive list of Scheduled Caste communities in the state and the quota of reservation benefits provided to each of them.
THE LITIGATIONS
• In ‘E.V. Chinnaiah v State of Andhra Pradesh’, the Supreme Court struck down the Andhra Pradesh Scheduled Castes (Rationalisation of Reservations) Act, 2000 for being violative of the right to equality.
• Two years after the apex court ruling, the Punjab & Haryana High Court in ‘Dr. Kishan Pal v. State of Punjab’ struck down the 1975 notification.
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o In October 2006, four months after the Punjab & Haryana High Court struck down the notification, the Punjab government attempted to bring back the law by passing The Punjab Scheduled Caste and Backward Classes (Reservation in Services) Act, 2006.
o In 2010, the High Court once again struck down this provision. The Punjab government then moved the Supreme Court.
WHY THE SC IS RECONSIDERING THE CHINNAIAH CASE?
• In 2014, the Supreme Court in ‘Davinder Singh v State of Punjab’, referred the appeal to a five-judge Constitution Bench to determine if the 2004 E V Chinnaiah decision required reconsideration, since it needed an inquiry into the interplay of several constitutional provisions.
• In 2020, the Constitution Bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra held that the court’s 2004 decision required reconsideration. The ruling noted that the court and the state “cannot be a silent spectator and shut its eyes to stark realities.” The ruling disagreed with the premise that Scheduled Castes are a homogeneous group and said there are “unequals within the list of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and socially and educationally backward classes.”
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LITHIUM RESERVES OF J&K
The Ministry of Mines was forced to scrap the auction for the lithium block in Jammu and Kashmir’s (J&K’s) Reasi district for the second time, following weak investor response. This comes nearly 18 months after then Mines Secretary Vivek Bharadwaj announced the discovery of an inferred deposit of 5.9 million tonnes of lithium ore, pitched as among the largest deposits in the world, in Reasi last February.
WHY WERE THE AUCTIONS SCRAPPED?
ROUND 1:
The first auction was annulled on March 13 after less than the required minimum of three bidders cleared the first round. The very next day, the Mines Ministry put the block for auction again.
ROUND 2:
This too was annulled last week, after failing to clear the first round despite the minimum bidder requirement being waved off this time around, as per auction rules. The second attempt saw no qualified bidders at all.
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WHY HAVE THE INVESTORS KEPT DISTANCE?
• Difficulties around extracting and processing lithium from hard rock pegmatite deposits like the ones found in Reasi.
• Underdeveloped mineral reporting standards used in tender documents played a significant role in deterring investors.
• No beneficiation study had been conducted to assess the feasibility of extracting and processing lithium from the resources identified in J&K.
• Limited information of the block.
• The block being too small “to apply modern mineral systems-based tools”.
WHAT CAN BE EXPECTED NEXT?
• In case the government decides to move ahead with further exploration of the Reasi block, before another auction attempt, new findings may provide more clarity to potential investors on the nature of resource present, which at present is only “inferred”.
• Alternatively, the government can choose to skip the auction process and reserve the area for the undertaking of prospecting or mining operations through a government-
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owned company, as allowed under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) (MMDR) Act.
o This is the first time critical mineral block was put to auction.
STATUS OF OTHER LITHIUM DEPOSITS IN INDIA
• Last month, the Mines Ministry successfully auctioned off India’s first lithium block in Chhattisgarh’s Korba district.
o Also in Korba, just south of this auctioned off lithium block, a private exploration company funded by the National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET) has found hard rock lithium deposits ranging from 168 to 295 parts per million (ppm). Further exploration could yield an even larger reserve estimate.
• Lithium reserves, larger than J&K, have been found in Rajasthan too.
• Lithium exploration in other states, however, has not been as fruitful:
o In Manipur, efforts to explore lithium in Kamjong district were stalled due to resistance from locals in the area. “The committee decided to drop the item for the time being due to local issues,”
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o In Ladakh’s Merak block, very close to the border between India and China, a lithium exploration funded by NMET yielded “results (that) are not encouraging”
GLOBAL LITHIUM RESERVES (NOW)
SIGNIFICANCE OF LITHIUM
• Used as an important input in Electronics & Telecommunications equipments.
• Used in manufacturing batteries which will become very important for EVs.
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o As part of efforts to decarbonise the transport sector – Government of India aims to grow EV sales in India to capture the markets of 30 percent of private passenger cars, 70 percent of commercial vehicles, and 80 percent of two and threewheelers by 2030.
o Experts say the discovery could lead to not only a reduction in India’s dependence on foreign countries but also bring down the cost of such batteries in the future.
▪ The cost of a battery is around 45-50 per cent in an EV.
• This will put India on track to reaching its goal of net zero emissions by 2070
• This will also help reduce India’s dependence on China “a major concern for many in the current political climate”.
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MCQs
1. Consider the following statements and mark the correct one:
1. Sub categorisation of caste aligns with the phenomenon of equity.
2. Sub Categorisation was allowed in the OBC category.
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Both 1 & 2
(D) Neither 1 nor 2
Ans. (C)
2. Consider the following statements and mark how many of them are correct?
1. States are allowed to sub categorise castes only & not tribes for reservation.
2. The most vulnerable class among SC will be getting more benefits of reservation.
3. Telangana & Punjab had included provisions for sub categorisation earlier but they were struck down by the courts.
(A) Only 1 statement is correct
(B) Only 2 statements are correct
(C) All the statements are correct
(D) None of the statements are correct
Ans. (A)
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3 Which country has the highest lithium deposits?
(A) China
(B) Australia
(C) Chile
(D) Argentine
Ans. (C)
4 The Lithium reserves found in Reasi, J&K are unexplored due to which of the following reasons?
1. The Blocks are too small to apply modern mineral systems-based tools.
2. Underdeveloped mineral reporting standards used in tender documents.
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Both 1 & 2
(D) Neither 1 nor 2
Ans. (C)
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5 Consider the following statements and mark the correct one:
1. GoI aims to get 30% private vehicles as EV on Indian roads by 2030.
2. GoI aims to become Net Zero by 2070.
3. DIscovery of Lithium reserves in India will contribute in reducing the Current Account Deficit.
(A) Only 1 & 2
(B) Only 3
(C) Only 2 & 3
(D) All of the above Ans. (D)