India, Nov. 21 -- Outgoing Chief Justice of India Bhushan R. Gavai, only the second Dalit judge to head the Supreme Court, on Friday firmly stood by his controversial judgment allowing sub-classification within Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, media reports said.

Speaking at a farewell event hosted by the Supreme Court Bar Association on his last working day, he said he had faced sharp criticism from within his own community but had "no reason to doubt" the correctness of the ruling.

Equality, he said, does not mean identical treatment for all, adding that B.R. Ambedkar himself warned that treating unequals as equals only deepens inequality.

Gavai authored a strong concurring opinion endorsing the introduction of a 'creamy layer'...