What does the Centre’s opposition to creamy layer for SC/STs entail? | Explained

Published 8 August 2026 · india

The story so far Opposing a batch of petitions seeking a “creamy layer” exclusion from the reserved categories of Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes

The story so far Opposing a batch of petitions seeking a “creamy layer” exclusion from the reserved categories of Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) (like that for Other Backward Classes), the Union government has recently reiterated in the Supreme Court of India that this concept of carving out exclusions within reserved categories was not applicable to the SC and ST classifications. Also read | Explained | The Scheduled Caste classification and the religion bar: What has the Supreme Court ruled? What brought this about? The current batch of petitions pending before the Supreme Court largely came through after a significant judgement of the Supreme Court in August 2024 (Davinder Singh judgement), which recognised the “heterogeneity” of communities classified as SC and ST and the graded backwardness amongst the communities already in these Constitutional lists. While doing so, a seven-judge Bench of the court, headed by then Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, granted sanction to State governments to sub-categorise within the existing lists of SCs and STs to ensure benefits of reservations reach communities that have been routinely crowded out by relatively less backward communities within their respective lists. However, in this judgement, Justice (Retd.) B.R. Gavai, in the opinion he had authored, noted that the problem of graded inequality and continued crowding out of certain SC/ST communities from benefits like reservations in public education and employment required that the Government seriously start considering introducing a concept of “creamy layer” exclusions within these lists as well, as introduced for the OBCs in the landmark Indra Sawhney judgement (1992). This particular observation had sparked protests from several SC and ST associations across the country, and the Union government and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party were quick to take a strong position against introducing a creamy layer concept for SC and ST quotas. But this opened the door for petitions seeking orders that the Union government introduce this concept for SC/ST quotas as well, which prompted the Supreme Court to issue a notice to the Centre earlier this year, also asking the Union government for a report on the action taken since the 2024 Davinder Singh judgement, intertwining sub-categorisation and creamy layer exclusion once again. What is the context that surrounds the judgement? The most recent reiteration of the Union government in the Supreme Court against introducing the creamy layer exclusion for SC/ST quotas comes at a time when a significant section of students in the country (largely from the General Category) that has traditionally been sympathetic to the ruling BJP establishment is organising the Reservation Hatao Andolan (RHA), a movement that came into being through an Instagram page, soon after the countrywide student movement ignited by the Cockroach Janta Party led to the resignation of erstwhile Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the issue of the NEET paper leak this year.