OBC creamy layer case: Supreme Court agrees to consider setting up special bench

The Supreme Court on August 25 said it would consider constituting a special bench to examine the Centre’s request for directions on applying its March 11 ruling on OBC creamy-layer criteria to the Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2025.

The Centre has approached the court seeking permission to complete the service allocation process for 958 candidates recommended by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), based on the OBC creamy-layer criteria that were in force when the examination process was conducted.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, was informed that the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) had filed a miscellaneous application in a matter that had already been disposed of.


Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the court that the application needed to be considered by the bench that had delivered the March 11 judgment. The case had been heard by a bench headed by Justice P S Narasimha, but the judges are now sitting in different combinations.

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The Chief Justice indicated that a special bench would have to be constituted and said he would consult the judges concerned before taking a decision.

The Centre’s plea stems from the Supreme Court’s March 11 judgment in the Union of India versus Rohith Nathan case. The court had held that a 2004 clarification could not supersede the 1993 office memorandum that lays down the framework for identifying members of the OBC creamy layer.

The judgment also clarified that the income or salary of a parent working in a private company or public sector undertaking could not, on its own, determine whether a candidate falls within the creamy layer. The nature and status of the parent’s post, along with the applicable income and wealth criteria, would also have to be examined.

The government has told the court that while it accepts the judgment, applying the ruling retrospectively to CSE 2025 could create unequal outcomes among candidates who participated under the rules and administrative interpretation prevailing at that time.

The CSE 2025 notification was issued on January 22, 2025. The preliminary examination took place on May 25, followed by the main examination between August 22 and 31. UPSC announced the final results on March 6, 2026, recommending 958 candidates for various services, including the IAS, IPS and IFS.

The Supreme Court delivered its creamy-layer ruling five days later.

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The Centre has argued that some candidates with parents employed in PSUs or private companies may have believed they did not qualify for OBC non-creamy-layer benefits because of the prevailing interpretation of the rules. They could therefore have applied as general-category candidates or chosen not to seek OBC status.

Such candidates may also have missed benefits linked to OBC non-creamy-layer status, including age relaxation and additional attempts.

At the same time, candidates who had applied under the OBC category could potentially have their eligibility reassessed under the new interpretation. This, according to the government, could create a disparity between candidates who were similarly placed but made different choices based on the rules applicable during the examination.

The Centre has also cautioned that reopening the eligibility exercise could require fresh verification of parental employment and the status of posts held by parents. Extending such scrutiny to candidates who did not apply under the OBC category could potentially require reopening parts of the selection process.

The government has further pointed to the approaching Foundation Course for the selected candidates at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie, which is tentatively scheduled for the last week of August.

A delay in service allocation could affect training schedules, cadre allocation, seniority and pay fixation, besides disrupting training arrangements across central services.

The Centre has invoked the principle of prospective overruling, arguing that the CSE 2025 selection process had concluded before the March 11 judgment and candidates had acted on the legal framework applicable at the time.

It has maintained that its plea does not seek to dilute the Supreme Court’s ruling, but seeks clarity on how the judgment should operate in the specific context of CSE 2025.

The government has therefore asked the top court to allow service allocation for the 958 recommended candidates to proceed using the OBC creamy-layer assessment framework applicable before March 11, 2026.