Top court clears 'quota within quota' to help disadvantaged communities

In a significant verdict, the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that its 2004 verdict holding that states do not have the power to further sub-classify the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes for grant of quotas needed to be revisited by a seven or more judges bench.

The apex court said states should be allowed to provide preferential treatment to the “poorest of the poor” among SCs and STs and advocated that an “authoritative pronouncement” was needed with respect to the effect of Constitutional provisions and whether sub-classification is permissible only with respect to the socially and educationally backward classes and not