While the Supreme Court in State of Punjab v Davinder Singh (2024) has classified that sub classification within Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes is not per se unconstitutional, the contours of what is a constitutional way to sub-classify castes and tribes for purposes of reservations is still unclear given the differences in the concurring opinions. As states start sub classification exercises, the SC will have to harmonise the somewhat conflicting positions in Davinder Singh to settle the law on the point.

Keywords: sub-classification - scheduled castes & tribes - constitutional validity-judicial harmonization