Supreme Court Seeks Centre’s Response on Excluding ‘Creamy Layer’ from SC/ST Reservation

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Union government to file its response in petitions seeking guidelines to exclude the ‘creamy layer’ among Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) from the benefits of reservation in education and employment.

Hearing on Samata Andolan Committee Petition
A bench comprising Chief Justice Sunil Suryakant, Justice Joymaly Bagchi, and Justice N.V. Anjari is hearing petitions filed by O.P. Shukla and the Samata Andolan Committee. The petitions urge the Court to direct the Centre to implement its historic 1 August 2024 ruling on reservation. The Court has asked the government to submit its response and indicated that the petitions would be considered after receiving the reply.

What is the ‘Creamy Layer’ Principle?
The ‘creamy layer’ concept was introduced by the Mandal Commission. Under this principle, economically advanced members of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) — referred to as the creamy layer — are excluded from reservation benefits in admissions and employment. In August 2024, a seven-judge Constitution bench led by then Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud ruled by a 6:1 majority that states have the constitutional right to sub-classify SCs to identify socially disadvantaged groups within them. This allows targeted reservation for socially and educationally backward sub-groups.

Justice B.R. Gavai’s Observations
Justice B.R. Gavai, who was part of the majority opinion, had observed that the principle of the creamy layer also applies to SCs and STs. He noted that conclusions drawn by M. Nagaraj, Jarnail Singh, and Davinder Singh affirm the correct legal position. Based on this, the petitioners have urged the Centre and state governments to comply with the instructions given by the seven-judge Constitution bench.