Supreme Court rules 2026 OBC creamy‑layer verdict will not apply retroactively

The Supreme Court on Friday said its March 11, 2026 verdict on the OBC creamy‑layer test will not be applied retrospectively. The court also rejected the government's request for a two‑year grace period to set up a uniform policy after consulting stakeholders. ## What Happened The court clarified that the ratio of the March 2026 judgment – which reassesses OBC non‑creamy‑layer status by excluding parental salary and agricultural income – will only affect future cases, not past recruitment. It directed the Department of Personnel and Training to create supernumerary posts within six months for OBC‑NCL candidates wrongly denied service due to the earlier creamy‑layer classification. ## Reaction The Centre argued that a retrospective application would disrupt recruitment, service and cadre allocation, seniority, admissions and OBC reservation for lakhs of people, and urged the court to give the judgment prospective effect under Article 142. Ms Bhati warned that retroactive re‑allocation could affect service allocation since 2012 and impact railways, banks, Posts and paramilitary services. Senior advocate P. Wilson, representing candidates, accused the government of trying to delay the final judgment and criticized the DoPT for ignoring court directions and its own 1993 rules. ## Context The 1993 Office Memorandum originally excluded parental salary and agricultural income from the creamy‑layer test. A 2004 DoPT clarification counted salaries of parents in PSUs, banks and private firms but ignored those of government employees, leading to unequal treatment that the Supreme Court termed "hostile discrimination".