{"id":118458,"date":"2026-08-11T11:08:38","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T05:38:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=118458"},"modified":"2026-08-11T11:08:38","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T05:38:38","slug":"creamy-layer-for-sc-st-reservations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/creamy-layer-for-sc-st-reservations\/","title":{"rendered":"Creamy Layer for SC\/ST Reservations: Centre Opposes Extension Beyond OBCs"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Creamy Layer for SC\/ST Reservations Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Union government has filed a counter-affidavit in the Supreme Court opposing petitions that seek to extend the &#8220;<\/span><b>creamy layer&#8221; exclusion<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2014 currently applicable to Other Backward Classes (OBCs) \u2014 to Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) reservations.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The government has argued that historical disadvantage suffered by SCs and STs cannot be equated with the economic backwardness criterion used for OBCs.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Background: How the Issue Arose<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The current round of litigation traces back to the Supreme Court&#8217;s August 2024 <\/span><b><i>Davinder Singh judgment<\/i><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, delivered by a seven-judge Bench headed by then Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That verdict recognised the <\/span><b>heterogeneity<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> within SC and ST communities and permitted State governments to sub-categorise within these lists so that more backward groups are not crowded out by relatively advanced ones.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In his opinion, Justice B.R. Gavai went further, suggesting the <\/span><b>government seriously consider a creamy layer exclusion for SC\/STs too<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, similar to what exists for OBCs.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This observation triggered a debate around this issue.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>The Present Petition Before the Court<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The present petition, filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, alleges &#8220;elite capture&#8221; of SC\/ST reservation benefits by affluent families, seeking income-based exclusions across all reserved categories.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It cites four of seven Davinder Singh judges who favoured extending the creamy layer principle to SC\/STs.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Understanding the Concepts: Sub-Categorisation vs Creamy Layer<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These two tools are often discussed together but serve different purposes:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Sub-categorisation<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> divides an existing reservation quota into smaller shares within a category, ensuring more backward groups get guaranteed representation. It does <\/span><b>not deny reservation to anyone<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">; it only redistributes the existing pie.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Creamy layer exclusion<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> identifies individuals or families who have already achieved sufficient social and economic advancement and excludes them entirely from availing reservation benefits.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The creamy layer concept originated in the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/indra-sawhney-case\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b>1992 Indra Sawhney judgment<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which upheld OBC reservations based on the Mandal Commission report.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Crucially, that judgment explicitly stated the <\/span><b>creamy layer test has no relevance for SCs and STs<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, since their backwardness stems from untouchability and social exclusion rather than economic status alone.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>The Centre&#8217;s Legal Arguments<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The government&#8217;s affidavit rests on several strands of reasoning.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>First,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> it draws a <\/span><b>distinction in the basis of identification<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: SCs are marked by &#8220;historical disadvantage&#8221; from untouchability, while STs are identified by distinct culture, geographical isolation and backwardness \u2014 neither is an economic classification like OBC status.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Second,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> it cites <\/span><b>settled precedent<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: the 2008 <\/span><b><i>Ashoka Kumar Thakur case<\/i><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> confirmed creamy layer does not apply to SC\/STs, and the <\/span><b><i>2005 E.V. Chinnaiah judgment<\/i><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> held that any such exclusion, if ever required, could only be introduced by Parliament, not the courts.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Third,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the Centre invokes <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/separation-of-powers\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b>separation of powers<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Under <\/span><b>Articles 341 and 342<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, only the President notifies SC\/ST lists, and any inclusion or exclusion requires an Act of Parliament \u2014 no other authority, including State governments or courts, can alter these lists.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On this basis, the government contends that the petition effectively seeks a <\/span><b>writ of mandamus<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> asking courts to direct executive policy, which is impermissible since reservation policy requires a holistic review and empirical data, not judicial intervention.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It has also questioned the petition&#8217;s maintainability under Article 32, arguing no fundamental right violation has been shown.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Notably, the Centre has left open a conditional pathway: any change to reservation policy would require a &#8220;holistic review and thorough empirical study&#8221; of socio-economic data \u2014 but such a review must be initiated by the government, not ordered by the judiciary.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Where Sub-Categorisation Has Actually Been Used<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unlike creamy layer, sub-categorisation has already been <\/span><b>implemented at the State level<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2014 for instance, Telangana, Haryana and Punjab have sub-classified their SC category, while Mizoram has done so for STs.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the Central level, the clearest example is the sub-division of the ST quota in Eklavya Model Residential Schools to ensure representation for Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs).\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Meanwhile, the Centre has still not acted on the <\/span><b>2017<\/b> <b>G. Rohini Commission report<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on OBC sub-categorisation, nor made its national stance clear.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Conclusion<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The debate underscores a fundamental distinction between economic and historical-social backwardness in India&#8217;s reservation framework.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While sub-categorisation strengthens equitable distribution within categories, the Centre insists creamy layer exclusion is constitutionally and legally confined to OBCs, leaving any change to Parliament&#8217;s exclusive domain.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-law\/sc-st-creamy-layer-centre-supreme-court-reservation-10825769\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/what-does-the-centres-opposition-to-creamy-layer-for-scsts-entail-explained\/article71320629.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">TH<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Creamy Layer for SC\/ST Reservations faces opposition from the Centre, which argues that SC\/ST backwardness is rooted in historical and social disadvantage, unlike OBC criteria.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":118475,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[9451,60,22,59],"class_list":["post-118458","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","tag-creamy-layer-for-sc-st-reservations","tag-mains-articles","tag-upsc-current-affairs","tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs-tag","no-featured-image-padding"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118458","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118458"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118458\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":118498,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118458\/revisions\/118498"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/118475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}