New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that the ‘creamy layer’ among OBCs cannot be determined on the basis of economic parameters alone. The court set aside the notification of the Haryana government dated August 17, 2016 regarding laying down criteria for removal of creamy layer. The court said that this is a gross violation of the directions issued by him in the Indira Sawhney case.
Creamy layer is a category of OBC, which belongs to the individuals and families falling in the higher income group. People falling under this category are deprived of the benefits of reservation. That is, they are not entitled to be part of the 27 percent reservation in jobs and education for OBCs.
As per the extant rules, families earning Rs. 8 lakh or more annually are placed in the creamy layer category, and they do not get the benefit of reservation. This is done on the basis of a pre-determined legal provision.
How is the creamy layer defined?
Some rules have been made to fix the OBC creamy layer. The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) had issued an official memorandum in 1993. It said that only OBC families earning less than Rs 8 lakh per annum would be eligible to get the benefit of reservation.
It does not include ‘salary’ and ‘agricultural income’. The creamy layer has been decided on the basis of income from sources other than ‘salary’ and ‘agricultural income’.
The government has recommended raising the limit from Rs 8 lakh to Rs 12 lakh by including ‘salary’ in the creamy layer of OBCs. However, NCBC (National Commission for Backward Classes) is opposing the decision of the government.
The government says it will help isolate people in the community by including the pay aspect. But the NCBC says that this will harm the interests of the backward class communities.
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