OBC creamy-layer criteria: SC likely to set up special Bench, Pg1

Key Highlights:

• The Supreme Court will consider forming a special Bench to clarify its March 11 judgment on OBC creamy-layer criteria.
• The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) seeks guidance on the retrospective application of the judgment for the 2025 civil services exam.
• The March 11 ruling in Union of India v. Rohith Nathan mandated supernumerary posts for OBC candidates excluded due to parental salaries.
• The Centre warned that retrospective implementation could cause a "cascading effect" on settled service matters since 2012.

Detailed Insights:

• The DoPT aims to proceed with service allocation for 958 candidates based on pre-March 11 wealth/income test criteria.
• The judgment clarified the "income/wealth test" component of the creamy layer exclusion framework for OBCs in public employment.
• The court identified "hostile discrimination" where parental salary was included for non-government employees but excluded for government servants in the income test.
• Supernumerary posts are intended to accommodate affected OBC candidates without disrupting existing selections or seniority.
• The Centre argued that the decision, if applied retrospectively, could significantly alter seniority, promotion, and cadre placement.

Key Concepts Involved:

• OBC Creamy Layer: An income-based criterion to exclude affluent individuals from Other Backward Classes from reservation benefits.
• Supernumerary Posts: Additional posts created beyond the sanctioned strength to accommodate specific categories of employees.
• Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT): The central agency responsible for recruitment, training, and service conditions of civil servants in India.
• Union Public Service Commission (UPSC): India's central recruiting agency conducting examinations for various civil services.