The Supreme Court on Friday clarified that its March 11 verdict, which held that parental income alone cannot be used to determine whether a candidate belongs to the creamy layer of the Other Backward Classes category, would not apply to past appointments and admissions, The Hindu reported.
The court added that the March order would apply to the candidates who were parties to the proceedings before it. It said that existing seniority and promotions would not be disturbed on the basis of the ruling, while cases pending before courts and the other authorities would be decided on their own merits and entitlement, Live Law reported.
The creamy layer refers to the wealthier and more advanced members within a group that is eligible for affirmative action benefits.
In its March order, the Supreme Court had said that whether a person is part of the creamy layer must be determined primarily by the status and category of the posts held by the parents, not income alone.
Referring to the government’s 1993 office memorandum issued after the ruling in the Indira Sawhney versus Union of India case, the court had noted that income from salary and agricultural sources was not meant to be clubbed with the income from other sources while applying the income or wealth test.
The bench had said at…
Source: Scroll.in
