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New Delhi: Attorney General of India K K Venugopal on Thursday (16 August 2018) told the Supreme Court bench headed by CJI Dipak Misra during the ongoing hearing on the 2006 judgement in the M Nagaraj case linked with Reservation in promotion that once benefits are given on the basis of backwardness, they cannot be withdrawn.

The Attorney General told the Court the power to exclude a certain class of SC/ST from reservation benefits being extended to them vest only with the President and the Parliament.

Venugopal, as reported by a news agency, told the Court that even after getting into service, those from the SC/ST have to marry within their own caste and they cannot marry someone from the higher caste.

A five Judge Bench of the Supreme Court has already taken into consideration the constitutional validity of Article 16(4A) in the M. Nagaraj case and pointed out in its order of July 2014 that the conclusions recorded by the Supreme Court in M. Nagaraj case were relevant. The matter is again under consideration before the Supreme Court. A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court began hearing this matter on 3 August 2018.

The constitution bench now visiting the M Nagaraj case comprises of Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, Justice Kurien Joseph, Justice RF Nariman, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Indu Malhotra.

In July 2014 in the Rohtas Bhankar and others versus Government of India and others case. The Supreme Court had stamped the ceiling limit of 50% for reservation. The Five Judge Constitution Bench that visited the judgement in the M Nagaraj case reiterated in 2014 that the concept of creamy layer and the compelling reasons, namely, backwardness, inadequacy of representation and overall administrative efficiency are all constitutional requirements without which the structure of equality of opportunity in Article 16 would collapse.