Archive · 26 Aug 2026
Supreme Court Special Bench to Review OBC Creamy Layer Criteria
The Supreme Court is dealing with a disagreement about which OBC candidates count as part of the creamy layer.
Candidates who passed the UPSC Civil Services Examination were denied appointments because officials classified them this way.
Some courts and the Central Administrative Tribunal gave those candidates relief.
The Centre and the Ministry of Personnel and Training challenged those decisions.
A Supreme Court bench led by Justices P.S. Narasimha and R. Mahadevan rejected those appeals.
The Supreme Court will now create a special bench to hear the Centre’s plea.
The government has also been asked to create a policy on the issue within two years.
The policy is meant to help clarify how the creamy-layer criteria should be applied.
The articles do not state when the special bench will hear the matter.
The Supreme Court will constitute a special bench to hear the Centre’s plea on OBC creamy-layer criteria.
The government is expected to formulate a policy on the issue within two years.
Justices P.S. Narasimha and R. Mahadevan rejected appeals filed by the Centre and the Ministry of Personnel and Training.
The appeals challenged orders from the Central Administrative Tribunal and several High Courts.
The lower-court orders had provided relief to OBC candidates denied UPSC appointments after being classified as creamy layer.
- Who
- The Supreme Court, the Centre, the Ministry of Personnel and Training, and OBC candidates who passed the UPSC Civil Services Examination.
- What
- The Supreme Court will constitute a special bench to hear the Centre’s plea concerning OBC creamy-layer criteria, while the government is to formulate a policy within two years.
- When
- The articles do not specify the date of the ruling or the special bench hearing; the policy is expected within two years.
- Where
- The matter is before the Supreme Court, following proceedings in the Central Administrative Tribunal and several High Courts.
- Why
- The dispute concerns the denial of appointments to successful OBC candidates after they were classified as part of the creamy layer.
Centre and Government Authorities
OBC Candidates and Lower-Court Relief
Validity of creamy-layer classification
Centre and Government Authorities
The Centre and the Ministry of Personnel and Training challenged decisions that provided relief to candidates classified as part of the OBC creamy layer.
OBC Candidates and Lower-Court Relief
The affected OBC candidates received relief from the Central Administrative Tribunal and several High Courts after being denied appointments despite clearing the UPSC Civil Services Examination.
Need for clarification
Centre and Government Authorities
The Centre has sought Supreme Court consideration of the criteria used to determine OBC creamy-layer status.
OBC Candidates and Lower-Court Relief
The candidates’ cases reflect concerns about applying those criteria to people who successfully cleared the civil services examination but were denied appointments.
- Issue
- Criteria for determining the OBC creamy layer
- Court action
- The Supreme Court will constitute a special bench to hear the Centre’s plea
- Government timeline
- The government is to formulate a policy within two years
- Supreme Court bench
- Justices P.S. Narasimha and R. Mahadevan
- Appeals
- Filed by the Centre and the Ministry of Personnel and Training
- Candidates affected
- OBC candidates who cleared the UPSC Civil Services Examination but were denied appointments
- Earlier decisions
- The Central Administrative Tribunal and several High Courts had provided relief to the candidates