Centre seeks two-year delay for OBC creamy layer ruling

The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved judgment on the Centre's plea to give prospective effect to its March 11 verdict on OBC creamy layer criteria. The government has sought a two-year window to implement the ruling, arguing that retrospective application from 2012 could unsettle recruitments, admissions, and seniority of civil servants. Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati told a bench of Justices Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and R. Mahadevan that the change in eligibility criteria could create administrative chaos.

The March 11 judgment held that parents' salary alone cannot determine creamy layer exclusion for OBC reservation. The court ruled that the status and category of the parent's job, along with an income or wealth test, must be considered. The Centre's application says it needs time to establish equivalence of posts across PSUs, banks, universities, and private entities with government posts, after consulting stakeholders. The government has not sought to dilute the verdict but only defer its operationalisation.