Q. With reference to the Other Backward Classes (OBCs), consider the following statements:
1. Creamy layer is the section of people who are a majority in a state compared to other sections.
2. The Constitution of India defines the creamy layer among the OBCs.
3. The Supreme Court held that economic criterion cannot be the sole basis for deciding the creamy layer.
How many statements given above are correct?
Exp) Option a is the correct answer.
Statement 1 is incorrect. Creamy layer is a category under Other Backward Classes category. They do not get the benefit of the OBC reservation. Creamy layer is the section of people in the Other Backward Classes who are considered socially advanced.
Statement 2 is incorrect. The ‘creamy layer’ concept was introduced in the Supreme Court’s Indra Sawhney judgment in 1992. The court found it necessary to identify sections of backward classes who were already “highly advanced socially as well as economically and educationally”. This was called creamy layer. The judgment directed the State governments to identify the ‘creamy layer’ and exclude them from the purview of reservation. The Constitution does not define the term creamy layer.
Statement 3 is correct. The Supreme court while quashing a Haryana government notification of August 17, 2016 held that economic criterion cannot be the sole basis for deciding the creamy layer from among the OBCs.
