UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Why has the Centre opposed creamy layer for SC/STs?

Q1. In the seven-judge Constitution Bench decision in State of Punjab v. Davinder Singh (2024), which one of the following judges delivered the lone dissent against permitting sub-classification within the Scheduled Castes?

  • A. Justice Vikram Nath, who was a member of the Bench
  • B. Justice Satish Chandra Sharma, who was a member of the Bench
  • C. Justice Bela M. Trivedi, who was a member of the Bench
  • D. Justice Pankaj Mithal, who was a member of the Bench

Q2. In the context of the 2024 Supreme Court judgment permitting States to sub-classify Scheduled Castes, 'sub-classification' means which one of the following?

  • A. Dividing Scheduled Caste beneficiaries by generation, so that only the first generation of a family may claim reservation benefits
  • B. Dividing the Scheduled Castes list notified for a State into groups and earmarking a part of the existing SC quota for the more backward among them
  • C. Dividing the Scheduled Caste quota in every recruitment cycle between candidates of rural origin and those of urban origin
  • D. Dividing the Scheduled Castes list into groups for purposes of Census enumeration, without altering any quota share

Q3. Consider the following statements about two Supreme Court rulings on reservation: 1. Indra Sawhney v. Union of India (1992) introduced the creamy layer exclusion in respect of the Other Backward Classes. 2. Indra Sawhney v. Union of India (1992) laid down that reservation under Articles 15(4) and 16(4) should not exceed 50 per cent. 3. State of Punjab v. Davinder Singh (2024) laid down binding objective criteria for excluding the creamy layer among Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, operative from the date of that judgment. 4. State of Punjab v. Davinder Singh (2024) held that the power to notify castes as Scheduled Castes in relation to a State vests in the State Legislature. Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

  1. Indra Sawhney v. Union of India (1992) introduced the creamy layer exclusion in respect of the Other Backward Classes.
  2. Indra Sawhney v. Union of India (1992) laid down that reservation under Articles 15(4) and 16(4) should not exceed 50 per cent.
  3. State of Punjab v. Davinder Singh (2024) laid down binding objective criteria for excluding the creamy layer among Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, operative from the date of that judgment.
  4. State of Punjab v. Davinder Singh (2024) held that the power to notify castes as Scheduled Castes in relation to a State vests in the State Legislature.
  • A. 1 and 2
  • B. 2 and 3
  • C. 3 and 4
  • D. 1 and 4

Q4. As laid down in Indra Sawhney v. Union of India (1992), the expression 'creamy layer' denotes which one of the following?

  • A. All members of a backward class whose family has availed a reserved post even once, who stand permanently barred from further benefits
  • B. All candidates of every reserved category who are appointed to Group A posts, who thereupon cease to belong to that category
  • C. The socially advanced sections among the Other Backward Classes, who are to be kept out of the benefit of reservation
  • D. Every household in the country, in any category, whose annual family income exceeds the prescribed ceiling of Rs 8 lakh

Q5. When the Supreme Court in February 2026 called for the Centre's response on excluding the creamy layer among SCs and STs, which one of the following correctly described the then existing legal basis of the creamy layer exclusion in India?

  • A. It operated in respect of the Other Backward Classes, on the basis laid down by the Supreme Court in Indra Sawhney (1992)
  • B. It operated in respect of every reserved category, having been made mandatory by the seven-judge Bench ruling of 2024
  • C. It operated in respect of the Scheduled Castes alone, by virtue of a Presidential notification issued under Article 341
  • D. It operated in respect of all reserved categories except the Scheduled Tribes, under a ceiling fixed by an Act of Parliament

Q6. In the petitions on which the Supreme Court sought the Centre's response in February 2026, the relief described as 'creamy layer exclusion' for SCs and STs would mean which one of the following?

  • A. Capping the aggregate reservation available to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes at 50 per cent of the posts in a service
  • B. Splitting the Scheduled Castes list of a State into sub-groups, each with an earmarked share of the existing SC quota
  • C. Counting Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe candidates who are selected on their own merit against the unreserved quota
  • D. Framing objective criteria to identify better-off persons within the SCs and STs and to keep them out of reservation benefits

Q7. E.V. Chinnaiah (2004) held that Scheduled Castes for a State can be specified only by the President under Article 341. In the working of that Article, a State Government's proposal to modify the Scheduled Castes list is processed for amending legislation only after it is agreed to by which of the following?

  • A. The Registrar General of India and the National Commission for Backward Classes
  • B. The Registrar General of India and the National Commission for Scheduled Castes
  • C. The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes and the Law Commission of India
  • D. The National Commission for Scheduled Castes and the Ministry of Home Affairs

Q8. Among the State enactments providing for sub-classification within the Scheduled Castes quota that have come up before the Supreme Court, which one is the earliest enacted?

  • A. The Punjab Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes (Reservation in Services) Act
  • B. The Tamil Nadu Arunthathiyars (Special Reservation) Act
  • C. The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Orders (Second Amendment) Act
  • D. The Andhra Pradesh Scheduled Castes (Rationalisation of Reservations) Act

Q9. Consider the following statements comparing Article 341 with Article 342 of the Constitution of India: 1. Under both Articles, the castes or tribes for a State are specified by the President by public notification, after consultation with the Governor of that State. 2. Under both Articles, a subsequent inclusion in, or exclusion from, the list so notified can be made only by an Act of Parliament. 3. Unlike Article 341, Article 342 does not permit the specification of parts of, or groups within, tribes or tribal communities. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Under both Articles, the castes or tribes for a State are specified by the President by public notification, after consultation with the Governor of that State.
  2. Under both Articles, a subsequent inclusion in, or exclusion from, the list so notified can be made only by an Act of Parliament.
  3. Unlike Article 341, Article 342 does not permit the specification of parts of, or groups within, tribes or tribal communities.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q10. Proposals for amending the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 so as to modify a State's list of Scheduled Castes are handled at the Union level by which one of the following?

  • A. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India
  • B. The Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India
  • C. The Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India
  • D. The Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India

Q11. Consider the following statements distinguishing sub-classification within the Scheduled Castes from creamy layer exclusion: 1. Sub-classification permits a State to earmark a portion of the Scheduled Castes quota for the more backward castes within the notified SC list. 2. Creamy layer exclusion, as operating for the Other Backward Classes, removes individuals satisfying prescribed income and status criteria from the pool eligible for reservation. 3. The Supreme Court in 2024 held unanimously that States are competent to sub-classify the Scheduled Castes. 4. By virtue of the 2024 judgment, the creamy layer criteria prescribed for the Other Backward Classes apply, as they stand, to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes as well. Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

  1. Sub-classification permits a State to earmark a portion of the Scheduled Castes quota for the more backward castes within the notified SC list.
  2. Creamy layer exclusion, as operating for the Other Backward Classes, removes individuals satisfying prescribed income and status criteria from the pool eligible for reservation.
  3. The Supreme Court in 2024 held unanimously that States are competent to sub-classify the Scheduled Castes.
  4. By virtue of the 2024 judgment, the creamy layer criteria prescribed for the Other Backward Classes apply, as they stand, to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes as well.
  • A. 1 and 3
  • B. 3 and 4
  • C. 2 and 4
  • D. 1, 2 and 4

Q12. The Punjab Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes (Reservation in Services) Act, 2006, whose validity was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2024, is administered by which department of the Government of Punjab?

  • A. The Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms, Government of Punjab
  • B. The Department of Rural Development and Panchayats, Government of Punjab
  • C. The Department of Social Justice, Empowerment and Minorities, Government of Punjab
  • D. The Department of Higher Education and Languages, Government of Punjab