Question

The Supreme Court of India upheld the decision to implement the quota for OBCs in higher educational institutions, but excluded the “creamy layer”. The reason is:

• A. Creamy layer is not an OBC; it is a forward caste
• B. Creamy layer is politically powerful
• C. It can compete with others on equal footing
• D. The inclusion of creamy layer would be unjust

Hint:

Link “\textbf{creamy layer}” with “\textbf{distributive justice within OBCs}”. The exclusion is to prevent unfair capture of benefits by the better-off.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

Step 1 (Concept): The “creamy layer” principle—evolved in the {Indra Sawhney} (Mandal) judgment—excludes the advanced/affluent section of OBCs from reservation so that the truly socially and educationally backward benefit.
Step 2 (Reasoning): If the creamy layer were included, the relatively better-off OBCs would capture a disproportionate share of the benefits, which is {inequitable} toward the poorer sections the policy seeks to uplift.
Step 3 (Match): Option (d) states this justice-based rationale most directly. Options (a)–(c) either misstate status or provide secondary considerations, not the core constitutional reasoning.