Supreme Court to Form Special Bench to Address OBC Creamy-Layer Rules for 2025 Civil Service Exams The Supreme Court has agreed to establish a special bench to resolve the Centre’s request for guidance on how its March 11 judgment regarding the OBC creamy-layer criteria should apply to the Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2025. The issue arose due to the timing of the judgment, which came five days after the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) finalized the results for the 2025 exam cycle. The court’s ruling altered the methodology for determining OBC creamy-layer status, particularly for candidates whose parents worked in public sector undertakings (PSUs) or private organizations. The dispute centers on the criteria for identifying the OBC creamy layer, a category of individuals from Other Backward Classes (OBC) who are excluded from reservation benefits due to their perceived social advancement. The framework for this exclusion was established in a 1993 Office Memorandum, issued following the Supreme Court’s landmark Indra Sawhney judgment. This memorandum outlined specific conditions, including the status of a parent’s government post, income, and wealth, and extended these criteria to parents employed in PSUs, banks, universities, and private organizations where comparable positions existed. In 2004, the government issued a clarificatory letter that incorporated salary income of parents working in PSUs and private sectors into the creamy-layer assessment. However, the Supreme Court’s March 11 ruling in the Union of India vs. Rohith Nathan case clarified that salary or income alone cannot determine a child’s creamy-layer status. The court emphasized that a parent’s post and status must also be evaluated alongside income and wealth criteria.#supreme_court #union_public_service_commission #upsc #lbsnaa
