The Supreme Court recently held that states cannot make annual income the sole yardstick to determine “creamy layer”’ within a backward class and exclude them from benefits of reservation.
Context
The Supreme Court recently held that states cannot make annual income the sole yardstick to determine “creamy layer”’ within a backward class and exclude them from benefits of reservation.
What is ‘creamy layer’?
- The term ‘creamy layer’ was introduced by the Sattanthan Commission in 1971, which directed that the creamy layer should be excluded from the reservation of civil posts.
- It is used to refer to the relatively forward and better-educated members of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) who are not eligible for government-sponsored educational and other benefit programmes.
- The Commission had confined the exclusion of creamy layer only to the OBCs and not the SC/STs.
- The difference between the ‘creamy layer’ and ‘non-creamy layer’ are given below:
- Creamy Layer: whose yearly income is more than Rs 8 lakh or government employees of greater than class 3 are not eligible for OBS reservation.
- Non-Creamy Layer: Whose yearly income is below Rs 8 lakh or government employees of class 3 or below 3 are eligible for OBC reservation.
Constitutional Provisions Governing Reservation:
- Part XVI deals with reservation of SC and ST in Central and State legislatures.
- Article 15(4) and 16(4) of the Constitution enabled the State and Central Governments to reserve seats in government services for the members of the SC and ST.
- Article 330 and 332 provides for specific representation through the reservation of seats for SCs and STs in the Parliament and in the State Legislative Assemblies respectively.
- Article 243D provides reservation of seats for SCs and STs in every Panchayat.
- Article 233T provides reservation of seats for SCs and STs in every Municipality.
- Article 335 of the constitution says that the claims of STs and STs shall be taken into consideration consistently with the maintenance of efficacy of the administration.
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Key-highlights of the Ruling
- Apart from the economic criterion, social, educational and other factors must also be taken into account before defining a “creamy layer” among the backward classes.
- The ruling by a bench of justices L Nageswara Rao and Aniruddha Bose came as it struck down a 2016 notification of the Haryana government denying benefits of reservation in government jobs and educational institutions to those among the backward classes who have an annual income of ?6 lakh or more.
