Supreme Court: OBC Creamy Layer Needs Post Status Review

India's Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that determining the creamy layer status within Other Backward Classes for reservation benefits cannot rely solely on parents' income, emphasizing instead the need to consider the status and category of posts held by the parents. The decision, delivered by a bench of Justices R. Mahadevan and P.S. Narasimha, addresses long-standing disputes over eligibility in competitive examinations like the civil services.

The ruling came in a series of civil appeals filed by the Union government's Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, challenging judgments from the Central Administrative Tribunal and high courts including those in Madras, Delhi and Kerala. These lower court decisions had granted relief to Other Backward Classes candidates who were denied reservation benefits despite qualifying for the civil services examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission. The candidates, many of whom had parents employed in public sector undertakings, banks or private organizations, argued they were wrongly excluded because their parents' salaries exceeded the annual income threshold of 8 lakh rupees, currently set for creamy...