The Supreme Court has agreed to constitute a special bench to address the Centre's plea regarding the applicability of its March 11 judgment on OBC creamy-layer criteria to candidates of the Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2025. The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) seeks to proceed with service allocation for 958 recommended candidates based on the creamy-layer determination applied before the verdict, citing potential unequal treatment and disruption to training schedules.
The Supreme Court will consider the Centre's plea for clarification on the applicability of its March 11 judgement regarding OBC creamy-layer criteria for the Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2025. The government highlights practical difficulties and potential unequal treatment of candidates if the ruling is applied retrospectively, as the CSE 2025 selection process concluded before the verdict. The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) seeks to proceed with service allocation based on the pre-March 11 criteria to avoid disruption to training schedules and ensure fairness for candidates.
The government also ruled out having a re-look at the present reservation system.
The Centre has informed the Supreme Court that the 'creamy layer' principle, which excludes affluent individuals from reservation benefits, does not apply to Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs). This stance opposes Public Interest Litigations (PILs) seeking to implement such a principle for SC/ST reservations and to direct the government to formulate policies for more equitable distribution of reservation benefits.
The Indian Institutes of Management have begun the exercise to sift creamy layer among OBC by asking candidates belonging to the category to give details of their status with regard to 'creamy layer' in keeping with the Supreme Court directive. The move by the IIMs comes in the wake of the HRD Ministry's directive last Sunday to all centrally-funded elite educational institutions, including IIMs and IITs, to implement the OBC reservation from this year sans creamy layer.
This has been a bone of contention between the UPA's allies.
At present, 27 per cent quota in government jobs and educational institutions is given to OBCs, provided the annual income of the family is up to Rs six lakh. Those with higher earnings are referred to as the 'creamy layer' and are not eligible for reservation.
The Supreme Court dismissed a PIL asking for its exemption.
Now that the Supreme Court has skimmed the OBC off its 'creamy layer', it has made it difficult for Mandal-fattened politicians to lick their chops. No matter how brave a front OBC caste activists may affect, they have little option but retreat to their chaupals where they can safely let their worry lines show.
OBC parliamentary forum says the 'creamy layer' barrier will hit a large number of OBC students; to meet soon. The definition, many fear, may deny a large number of students the benefit of the OBC quotas in central educational institutions that were given the go-ahead by the Supreme Court last week.
The Supreme Court of India has questioned the continued provision of reservation benefits to children from economically and educationally advanced families within backward classes, highlighting concerns about social mobility and fairness.
Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund invites applications for Jawaharlal Nehru Scholarships for Doctoral Studies for the year 2026. A candidate may apply for scholarship in any one of the following areas of specialization:: Indian History & Civilization, Sociology, Comparative Studies in Religion & Culture, Ecology & Environment and Economics
Many students who do well in the NEET exams miss out on a medical seat because they didn't get their documentation in order. You don't want to be that student, says Ashok Hegde.
Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot has suspended KPSC Chairman Shivashankarappa S Sahukar following allegations that he facilitated the illegal selection of his two daughters as Industrial Extension Officers. The Governor has also recommended to the President that the matter be referred to the Supreme Court for an inquiry under Article 317(1) of the Constitution.
'They want to sabotage the caste census and bury Muslim backward classes, Hindu backward classes, Sikh backward classes and Buddhist backward classes.'
rediffGURU Pradeep Pramanik, a career coach, placement consultant and director at Fast Track Career Consultants, guides aspirants on how to pick the right career stream and college after the IIT-Joint Entrance Exam.
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has announced mandatory face authentication for all candidates at examination centers and introduced stricter eligibility criteria for the Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2026.
'Once the numbers come out, they fear that the OBCs would start to demand, and articulate what they are lacking, why they are lacking and what should be done to go forward.'
The forum, which constitutes 40 OBC lawmakers, including Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss, Dausa MP Sachin Pilot and JD-U leader Sharad Yadav, termed the creamy layer criterion put forward by the Supreme Court as a 'conspiracy'.
The Centre has directed the Pune police to apprise it of the marital status of the parents of controversial IAS probationer Puja Khedkar amid allegations that she fraudulently availed of the OBC non-creamy layer benefit in the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exam by claiming that they were separated, an official said.
Ending a week-long uncertainty, the government on Sunday directed all the centrally-funded elite educational institutions, including Indian Institutes of Management and Indian Institutes of Technology, to implement the Other Backward Classes reservation from this year. The Human Resource Development Ministry issued the directive to the Central Educational Institutions, after the Supreme Court on April 10 upheld the 27 per cent reservation for OBCs, excluding the creamy layer.
In a bid to widen the ambit of beneficiaries getting reservation under the Other Backward Classes quota, the central government on Thursday enhanced the ceiling for applying the 'creamy layer' restriction on "socially advanced persons". While the income criterion so far was Rs 4.5 lakh per annum, the Union Cabinet on Thursday increased it to Rs 6 lakh per annum.
Pooja Khedkar, a 2022 batch IAS officer of the Maharashtra cadre, allegedly submitted fake disability and Other Backward Class (OBC) certificates to clear the civil services exam, an official said on Wednesday.
The government has said it would implement the Supreme Court verdict on the OBC quota and does not want to seek a review of the judgment. Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh sought to mollify allies upset over the exclusion of creamy layer, stating the government as also the United Progressive Alliance favoured reservation benefits for the creamy layer. Singh steered clear of the demands by allies, including the DMK, for a fair and just review of the verdict.
About the 34-year-old officer's alleged misuse of power, including the use of a private luxury car with a VIP number plate and red-blue beacon, during her tenure at the Pune collector's office, Dilip said she had taken permission for everything.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday posed a slew of queries to the Centre on the grant of 10 per cent quota in admissions and government jobs to the EWS category, saying the "slice of cake" of 50 per cent open general seats available to OBCs above the creamy layer now stands reduced to 40 per cent.
It also recommended the setting up of three new Indian Institutes of Management.
Probationary Indian Administrative Service officer Puja Khedkar, who is at the centre of a controversy over alleged misuse of power and privileges, had submitted a fitness certificate while securing admission to a private medical college in 2007, the institute's director said on Monday.
In a unanimous verdict, a five-judge Constitution Bench on Thursday upheld the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006. The Act does not violate the basic structure of the Constitution, the SC said, and favoured the exclusion of creamy layer among the OBCs from the benefit of quota
The controversial decision of the United Progressive Alliance-II government ahead of general elections to include Jats in Other Backward Classes category came under judicial scrutiny with the Supreme Court on Tuesday seeking explanation from the Centre for allegedly ignoring the advice of a statutory body to keep the community away from reservation benefits.
'If a Brahmin child by birth is poor then he must get reservation benefits rather than an OBC child who is rich and born in a rich family.'
A video purportedly showing controversial Indian Administrative Service officer Puja Khedkar's mother arguing with Metro rail construction workers in Pune has surfaced, days after another clip of her wielding a gun and threatening a group of men went viral.
The ball is now in the government's court to decide on the contentious issues on OBC quota including the creamy layer with the Moily Committee submitting its final report to the Prime Minister's Office.
The Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore on Thursday night deferred announcement of the names of shortlisted candidates for the academic year 2008-09, following the Supreme Court verdict upholding 27 per cent reservation for OBCs in central educational institutions. IIM-B director Professor Pankaj Chandra said, "We will abide by the verdict and it will be done in a phased manner."
The passage of this major legislation comes ahead of the general election due early next year.
With 15 per cent lesser number of candidates taking the Common Admission Test (CAT) this year and the number of seats in all the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) put together increased, is there a better chance for a candidate to get in?
Tamil Nadu in its counter affidavit filed in the Supreme Court has justified its policy of providing 69 per cent reservation to the OBCs, ST/SCs and socially and educationally backward classes in the state for admission to educational institutions.
Referring to the March 29 interim order of the two-judge bench, the government petition said that according to one view, the judgment may not be construed as an order of stay but only an advice to the government.
A group of ministers will meet in New Delhi on November 14 to deliberate on the issue on job reservation in the wake of a Supreme Court verdict directing exclusion of the 'creamy layer' from the benefit of quotas.\n
