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Creamy layer verdict only for those who challenged government decision, says SC

By · Via Times of India · Published by Everything Blog

In short

The clarification follows a March 2026 judgment that quashed a 2004 government policy applying salary income alone to assess OBC creamy layer status for PSU and private sector employees. The court had ruled that parental job category and status must also be factored in alongside wealth, aligning criteria with the framework used for government workers. While successful litigants will now receive non-creamy layer benefits without disrupting settled cadres, candidates with pending tribunal disputes will have their individual claims decided on merit under the same legal interpretation.

Key points

  • Relief from the quashed creamy layer policy is restricted exclusively to individuals who…: Relief from the quashed creamy layer policy is restricted exclusively to individuals who formally contested the rule in court.
  • Parental job status and category must be evaluated alongside wealth and income to properl…: Parental job status and category must be evaluated alongside wealth and income to properly determine creamy layer exclusion.
  • Pending claims before tribunals must be resolved on their own merits using the legal inte…: Pending claims before tribunals must be resolved on their own merits using the legal interpretations established by the top court.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

NEW DELHI: Supreme Court Friday said its March 2026 verdict quashing Centre's 2004 decision to factor in salary income of PSU and private sector employees for deciding creamy layer status for OBCs would be applicable only to those who had moved the court, while those already appointed and allotted cadre would not be disturbed.The clarification came following apprehension in many quarters that the March order would affect all subsequent appointments as those denied reservation in the last decades on that calculation would become eligible for fresh entry into the civil services.In March, SC had held that income of parents could not be the sole criterion to determine whether a candidate fell in the creamy layer for exclusion from OBC reservation and the status and category of parents' job had to be considered along with 'income/wealth test' as an additional criterion of exclusion.

Order won't be ground to reopen appointments already made: SC

The ruling has huge implications for wards of PSU and private sector employees as in their case, parents' income was taken as the sole factor to determine creamy…

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