Centre Says Creamy Layer Not Applicable to SC, ST Quotas

In India, some groups of people are called Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

The government, called the Centre, gave the Supreme Court a special written statement called an affidavit.

In this affidavit, the Centre said the 'creamy layer' rule does not apply to the quotas for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

The Centre also said only Parliament can change the list of who belongs to these groups.

No state government, court, or other authority can change the list.

The list comes from Articles 341 and 342 of India's Constitution.

The government said only a law made by Parliament can add or remove a group from the list.

So the Centre wants to make clear that only Parliament has this power.

The Supreme Court will use this affidavit when it decides on the case.