SC/ST creamy layer

In the 1992 Indra Sawhney judgment, the supreme court upheld the government’s move to give 27% reservation to Other Backward Classes (based on the Mandal Commission report).
The apex court also introduced the concept of creamy layer and held that the creamy layer (highly advanced socially as well as economically and educationally) must be excluded from backward classes for the purpose of reservation. The court asked the Central government to fix the norms for income, property and status for identifying the creamy layer.
In 1993, the creamy layer income ceiling was fixed at ₹1 lakh. It was subsequently increased to ₹2.5 lakh in 2004, ₹4.5 lakh in 2008, ₹6 lakh in 2013, and at ₹8 lakh since 2017.
The court further held that creamy layer principle is only confined to Other Backward Classes and has no relevance in the case of Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes.
The Supreme Court also held that reservations in appointments — under Article 16(4) of the Constitution — do not apply to promotions.

Meanwhile, in order to change the effect of the judgment in the Indira Sawhney case, there were some amendments to enable the government to make laws regarding reservation in promotion for SCs and STs.
The first of these amendments was when the Parliament enacted the Constitution (77th Amendment) Act, 1995, inserting Article 16(4A), thereby enabling the government to make laws providing quota in promotion for SCs and STs.
Article 16(4B) was also inserted, providing that reserved promotion posts for SCs and STs that remain unfilled can be carried forward to the subsequent year.
Another instance was when Article 335 of the Constitution was amended in 2001. While Article 335 specified that reservations have to be balanced with the “maintenance of efficiency”, the 2001 amendment stated that the Article will not apply to the government if it relaxes evaluation standards in matters of promotion.
‘Maintenance of efficiency’ is a constitutional limitation on the discretion of the government in making reservations in promotion for SCs and STs.

These amendments led to the 2006 Supreme Court judgment in M. Nagaraj vs Union of India, where a five-judge bench approved Parliament’s decision to extend reservations for SCs and STs to include promotions with three conditions.
- It required the state to provide proof for the backwardness of the class benefitting from the reservation,
- Its inadequate representation in the position/service for which reservation in promotion is to be granted and
- To show how reservations in promotions would further administrative efficiency
The judgment also held that the creamy layer concept was applicable to SCs and STs.

The M. Nagaraj case judgment was challenged in the Jarnail Singh case.
In this judgement, a five-judge Bench of the Supreme Court upheld the applicability of creamy layer to affluent SCs and STs.
However, the court delinked the need to provide proof for the backwardness (one of the three conditions mandated in M. Nagaraj judgement) in giving reservation to SC/ST communities.

Recently, the Supreme Court has asked the Attorney General to compile the various issues being raised by States with regard to the application of a Constitution Bench judgment of 2006 in M. Nagaraj case, which had upheld the application of creamy layer principle to members of the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe communities in promotions.
The case is based on a plea by the Centre to refer to a seven-judge Bench the question whether creamy layer should apply or not to the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe community while providing them reservation in government promotions.

Article 16(4A) – State can make any provision for reservation in matters of promotion if SC/STs are not adequately represented in the services in the state.
Article 16(4B) provides that reserved promotion posts for SCs and STs that remain unfilled can be carried forward to the subsequent year.
Article 335- The claims of the members of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes shall be taken into consideration, consistently with the maintenance of efficiency of administration, in the making of appointments to services and posts in connection with the affairs of the Union or of a State.

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