Kerala HC Rules Private Sector Salary Must Be Included in Creamy Layer Assessment; Income Limit ₹8 Lakh

SC Rules on OBC Creamy Layer Income Test: Salaries Excluded, Centre Seeks Clarification on Retrospective Impact

The Supreme Court in March 2026 ruled that while determining OBC creamy layer status, income from salaries and agriculture must be excluded from the income/wealth test. The Centre now seeks clarification, arguing retrospective implementation from 2012 is 'extremely difficult' and would cause a cascading effect on recruitments and admissions.

Centre Seeks SC Exemption for CSE 2025, 2026 from OBC Creamy Layer Income Test Retroactivity

The Centre has urged the Supreme Court to keep CSE 2025 and 2026 out of the Rohith Nathan judgment's retrospective operation, allowing the older OBC creamy layer income test to continue. It warns that retrospective application would hit 3.7 lakh OBC recruitments since 2016 and trigger widespread litigation across Railways, Banks, Posts and paramilitary.

Bihar GAD Reasserts Parents' Salaries, Agricultural Income Exempt in OBC Creamy Layer Test

Bihar's GAD order of September 1, 2026 reiterates that parents' salaries and agricultural income cannot be included in the income test for determining OBC creamy layer status. This follows the Supreme Court's March 11 Rohith Nathan judgment, which flagged 'hostile discrimination' in how the income test was applied differently. The Centre has separately sought SC clarity, even arguing that salary income may be the 'sole intelligible differentia' between OBC candidates in some cases.

Govt to SC: Only Parliament Can Extend Creamy Layer to SC/ST; Cites Article 341, E V Chinnaiah Case

The government has told the Supreme Court that extending the creamy layer principle to SC/ST is a policy decision for Parliament alone. This reaffirms that reservation for SC/ST is based on historical social criteria, not just economic status, and the creamy layer concept currently applies only to OBCs.

SC's March 11 Creamy Layer Judgment: Centre Seeks Clarification for 100 OBC CSE-2025 Candidates

Centre has approached SC seeking clarification on its March 11 judgment that ruled income cannot be the sole criterion for creamy layer among OBCs. The plea concerns 100 candidates selected in CSE since 2016 but rejected due to creamy layer criteria. The government warns retrospective application could disrupt CSE-2025 training and allocation.

SC Special Bench to Decide OBC Creamy Layer Verdict's Applicability to CSE 2025

The Supreme Court will hear the Centre's plea seeking clarity on whether its March 2026 OBC creamy layer verdict applies to CSE 2025, which was largely concluded before the judgment. This tests the 'rules of the game' doctrine in service law and affects hundreds of OBC candidates' reservation status.

Maharashtra Panel Recommends BNS Amendment for Defamatory Social Media Posts; Shreya Singhal Precedent

A Maharashtra government panel has recommended amending the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) to specifically criminalize defamatory social media posts, reviving the spirit of the now-struck-down Section 66A of the IT Act. This raises critical constitutional questions about balancing free speech (Article 19(1)(a)) with the right to reputation (Article 21), especially after the Supreme Court struck down Section 66A in Shreya Singhal vs Union of India (2015) for vagueness and overbreadth. For exam aspirants, understanding the legal framework of defamation, the concept of reasonable restrictions, and the proportionality standard is crucial.

Calcutta HC Cancels OBC-A and OBC-B Certificates Issued Under 2025 TMC Rules

The Calcutta High Court has cancelled all OBC certificates issued under the OBC-A and OBC-B categories created by the previous TMC government in 2025. This landmark ruling affects thousands of certificate holders who will now be treated as general category candidates, directly impacting reservation policies and state-level classification powers.