Should 'Creamy Layer' Be Applied To SC & ST Reservation: Supreme Court To Examine

The Supreme Court will examine the issue related to the implementation of the 'creamy layer' in the Scheduled Castes ('SCs') and the Scheduled Tribes('STs') Reservation. 

A petition under Article 32 of the Constitution has been filed seeking to implement the Creamy Layer System in the SC/ST reservation. It is submitted in the plea that non-exclusion of the Creamy Layer from the SC/ST reservation is in violation of Articles 14, 15, 16, 17, 38, 41, 46, 51-A(j), and 335 of the Constitution.

The Bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi heard the Petitioner and issued notice in the PIL. 

Petitioner Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay appeared in person.

The plea states, "The Cause of Action accrued on 1.12.2025 when Petitioner came to know that affluent and advanced families from SC/ST categories are availing all the benefits of reservation and hogging up huge chunk of the Reserved Seats in Union and State Civil Services Examinations, JEE, NEET, CLAT, CAT, and Bank, Railway and other government jobs."

Further, it says that the reservations were never intended to be a permanent phenomenon; rather, it was always a measure for Socio- Economic Justice. It was envisaged by the Constitution framers that Reservation needs to be given only to those who need it, and granting it blanketly and excessively would be detrimental to the Nation, it adds.

"Excessive Reservation without implementing Creamy Layer System with stringent measures, is violative of the Constitutional Spirit of Justice, Equity and Good Conscience. Presently, Reservation being given without Periodic Assessments is antithetical to the constitutional goal of socio-economic justice and equal opportunity", it says.

The Plea highlights the historical background of the concept of Reservations and relied on speeches of members of the Constituent Assembly, such as Dr B.R. Ambedkar, Sh. V. I. Muniswamy Pillai and Sh. Jaipal Singh.

The Petition states, "The Constitution has to be interpreted purposively because it aims for a developed India and also for a great nation. All the provisions of the Constitution have to be read purposively. The purpose/aims and objectives have to be deciphered from the Preamble itself. Our Constitution aims to establish social, economic and political justice, equality, fraternity, and liberty. Its main aim is to eradicate all sorts of inequalities and social evils that pervaded our country. It does not allow us to do reverse discrimination in the name of reservation. Its purpose is to keep India on the trajectory of development. The path to development can be laden with reservation, but it cannot be reservation only. Economic efficiency is an unignorable part of development. The unity of country has to be kept intact. It cannot be compromised by sowing seeds of animosity between different groups which may feel alienated due to irrational and excessive reservation."

The plea categorises the impacts of reservation in various categories such as national impact, social impact, economic impact and cultural impact. 

"The outcome is an elite cycle of power disguised as social justice. This also encourages a political culture where people focus on retaining backward status for benefits and not on genuine empowerment, weakening national unity and shifting politics from economic upliftment to identity preservation,", it says. 

It is also noted, "Sub-Stratification within SC/ST’s- The social impact of the current policy is the most tragic for the intended beneficiaries of affirmative action, leading to the stratification of SC and ST communities into “forward-backwards” and “real backwards.” We are witnessing the solidification of a “class within a caste”, a section of the community that has successfully availed the benefits of Reservation and come to settle on an equal pedestal as the General Category and is raising their subsequent generations in the same shared space as the other non-reserved categories. This phenomenon leads to “elite capture,” where the benefits of affirmative action circulate within a closed loop of families."

It is submitted that the cultural impact of retaining the creamy layer is that it bifurcates the authentic identity and unity of SC and ST communities. When the most privileged members adopt upper-caste lifestyles but continue to claim backward status, the community’s culture becomes diluted, misrepresented, and selectively performed. This creates a false public image of upliftment while the lived traditions, dialects, and practices of the majority remain marginalized and invisible. As a result, the cultural integrity of the community weakens, and its most disadvantaged members lose visibility, voice, and representation, it is added. 

The following questions of law are raised in the plea for the consideration of the Court- a) Whether Reservation without Creamy Layer System in SC/STs Category is in consonance with Justice, Equity and Good Conscience; b) Whether Excessive Reservation along with non-exclusion of Creamy Layer from SC/STs is in violation of the spirit of the Preamble; c) Whether non-exclusion of Creamy Layer is against Article 14; d) Whether the State is constitutionally obligated to identify and exclude the Creamy Layer within SC/STs to ensure substantive equality under Article 15 and 16; e) Whether non-exclusion of Creamy Layer is against Article 19(1)(g); f) Whether non-exclusion of Creamy Layer is in violation of Article 21; g) Whether the State’s failure to implement Creamy Layer in SC/STs is in violation of ‘Temporal Reasonableness’; h) Whether the State’s failure to implement Creamy Layer System is against the spirit of the Articles 38, 41 and 46; i) Whether the reservation being given without the exclusion of the creamy layer defeats the legislative intent behind the reservation itself?

Conclusively, it is prayed that directions may be passed to the Centre and States to take appropriate steps to implement the Creamy Layer System in SC/ST Reservation.

Previously, in August 2024, the Supreme Court, while holding that the sub-categorisation and sub-division of the SC/ST is permissible, had held that for the benefit of affirmative action, the "Creamy Layer" should be excluded from the reservations given to SCs/STs.

Cause Title: Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay v. Union of India and Ors. [W.P.(C) No. 1276/2025]