GS-2News & Analysis22 May 2026thehindu.com

Supreme Court questions quota to children of economically, educationally advanced families in backward classes

The Supreme Court has questioned the continued grant of reservation benefits to children of economically and educationally advanced families within backward classes, emphasizing that social mobility achieved through parental empowerment should lead to their exclusion from reservation. This observation was made during a hearing challenging a Karnataka High Court judgment that upheld the exclusion of a petitioner from reservation based on the 'creamy layer' principle, where parents' combined income exceeded the prescribed threshold. The court highlighted that existing government orders provide for such exclusion, but these are being challenged. It also briefly noted a separate case where it stated that the legislature must decide on the creamy layer for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

The Supreme Court has questioned the continued grant of reservation benefits to children of economically and educationally advanced families within backward classes, emphasizing that social mobility achieved through parental empowerment should lead to their exclusion from reservation. This observation was made during a hearing challenging a Karnataka High Court judgment that upheld the exclusion of a petitioner from reservation based on the 'creamy layer' principle, where parents' combined income exceeded the prescribed threshold. The court highlighted that existing government orders provide for such exclusion, but these are being challenged. It also briefly noted a separate case where it stated that the legislature must decide on the creamy layer for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

Exam linkage

GS Paper 2: Indian Polity & Governance (Constitutional provisions, Judiciary, Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation); Social Justice (Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections).

Syllabus mapping

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