Supreme Court clarifies OBC creamy layer criterion for PSU and private sector employees

Exam-focused facts from the 13 March 2026 current affairs briefing.

Key facts

The Supreme Court ruled that income alone cannot be the sole criterion to determine the creamy layer among Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
The Bench of Justice PS Narasimha and Justice R Mahadevan held that treating children of PSU and private sector employees as excluded from OBC reservation based only on salary income leads to hostile discrimination.
The court set aside the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) clarification of 14 October 2004 that included salary income of PSU and private sector employees for creamy layer determination.
The Supreme Court directed creation of supernumerary posts to accommodate candidates who satisfy the revised non-creamy layer criteria, subject to eligibility conditions.