Key Facts

The Supreme Court reiterated that the objective and consistent exclusion of the 'creamy layer' from backward class reservation is vital to ensure that affirmative action benefits reach genuinely disadvantaged individuals. Reflecting on constitutional jurisprudence from the landmark Indra Sawhney judgment, the apex court observed that failure to update creamy layer criteria transparently risks perpetuating privilege within reserved categories, which can create intra-group inequality. The court stressed that states and the Union must maintain verifiable socio-economic criteria, incorporating real-income indicators rather than nominal thresholds, to keep reservations grounded in constitutional egalitarianism.

GK Context

The concept of the 'creamy layer' was formally introduced into Indian constitutional law by the nine-judge Constitution Bench in Indra Sawhney v. Union of India (1992), which upheld 27% reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) subject to the exclusion of advanced sections. The creamy layer income ceiling for central government employment and admissions, set through executive office memorandums, has evolved through periodic revisions based on criteria prescribed by the Justice Ram Nandan Prasad Committee (1993). In recent judgments, including the 2024 sub-classification ruling, the court has emphasized expanding similar objective principles to ensure social justice.