Archive · 13 Jan 2026
Supreme Court to hear plea on SC/ST creamy layer exclusion
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a request to exclude the wealthier members, known as the creamy layer, from the special benefits given to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
A lawyer named Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay made this request, arguing that reservations should only be for those who truly need help and not for everyone in these groups.
He said that giving reservations without checking if people still need them goes against the ideas of fairness and equality in the Indian Constitution.
The court will also look at a related request about giving priority to poorer people within these reserved groups.
The lawyer believes that not removing the creamy layer causes big problems for society and the country.
The Supreme Court agreed to hear a plea to exclude the creamy layer from SC/ST reservations.
The plea argues that reservations should be given only to those who need them, not blanketly.
The court tagged the plea with a pending petition seeking priority reservation for economically weaker sections within reservation categories.
The petitioner contends that current reservation practices violate the constitutional spirit of justice and equality.
The Supreme Court had previously suggested extending the creamy layer principle to SC/ST reservations.
- Who
- Advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay and the Supreme Court of India
- What
- A plea seeking exclusion of the creamy layer from SC/ST reservations
- When
- The Supreme Court agreed to hear the plea on Monday
- Where
- Supreme Court of India
- Why
- To address the issue of reservations being given without periodic assessments and the implementation of the creamy layer principle
- Petitioner
- Advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay
- Court Bench
- Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi
- Pending Petition
- Priority reservation for economically weaker sections within reservation categories
- Constitutional Articles Cited
- 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 21, 38, 41, 46, 51-A(j), and 335
- Key Argument
- Reservation should be given only to those who need it, not blanketly
