UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — OBC creamy-layer criteria: SC likely to set up special Bench

Q1. With reference to the Supreme Court's judgment of 11 March 2026 in Union of India v. Rohith Nathan on the determination of OBC creamy-layer status, consider the following statements: 1. It held that a parent's salary drawn in a public sector undertaking or in private employment cannot, by itself, decide creamy-layer status. 2. It treated the framework of the 1993 Office Memorandum as essentially status-based, with the income test operating only as a supplementary element. 3. It held that the 2004 clarificatory letter, being later in point of time, must prevail over the framework of the 1993 Office Memorandum. 4. It directed that Group 'C' and Group 'D' employees of the Central Government be automatically treated as falling within the creamy layer. Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

  1. It held that a parent's salary drawn in a public sector undertaking or in private employment cannot, by itself, decide creamy-layer status.
  2. It treated the framework of the 1993 Office Memorandum as essentially status-based, with the income test operating only as a supplementary element.
  3. It held that the 2004 clarificatory letter, being later in point of time, must prevail over the framework of the 1993 Office Memorandum.
  4. It directed that Group 'C' and Group 'D' employees of the Central Government be automatically treated as falling within the creamy layer.
  • A. 1 and 2
  • B. 2 and 3
  • C. 3 and 4
  • D. 1, 3 and 4

Q2. Consider the following in relation to the 2026 Supreme Court proceedings on OBC creamy-layer determination: 1. Justices P.S. Narasimha and R. Mahadevan — the Judges who delivered the original ruling. 2. Supernumerary posts — the relief whose creation the Court permitted for wrongly excluded candidates. 3. Department of Personnel and Training — the department that has sought to proceed with service allocation on the pre-judgment criteria. 4. Staff Selection Commission — the body that recommended the candidates whose allocation is in issue. Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

  1. Justices P.S. Narasimha and R. Mahadevan — the Judges who delivered the original ruling.
  2. Supernumerary posts — the relief whose creation the Court permitted for wrongly excluded candidates.
  3. Department of Personnel and Training — the department that has sought to proceed with service allocation on the pre-judgment criteria.
  4. Staff Selection Commission — the body that recommended the candidates whose allocation is in issue.
  • A. 1 and 4
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 3
  • D. 1, 3 and 4

Q3. The Office Memorandum of 8 September 1993, which first laid down the criteria for identifying socially advanced persons among the Other Backward Classes, was issued on the basis of the report of which one of the following?

  • A. The Second Backward Classes Commission chaired by B.P. Mandal, in its report of December 1980
  • B. An Expert Committee constituted in February 1993, which reported in March 1993
  • C. The National Commission for Backward Classes, set up under its parent Act of 1993
  • D. The Parliamentary Committee on Welfare of Other Backward Classes, in its first report

Q4. Consider the following categories: 1. Persons holding constitutional or statutory posts. 2. Officers of Group 'A'/Class I and Group 'B'/Class II of the Central and State Governments. 3. Officers of the rank of Major and above in the Armed Forces, and equivalent ranks in the paramilitary forces. 4. Assessees under the income tax and wealth tax laws. Which of the above is/are correctly identified as categories listed in the Schedule to the 1993 Office Memorandum for determining the creamy layer among OBCs?

  1. Persons holding constitutional or statutory posts.
  2. Officers of Group 'A'/Class I and Group 'B'/Class II of the Central and State Governments.
  3. Officers of the rank of Major and above in the Armed Forces, and equivalent ranks in the paramilitary forces.
  4. Assessees under the income tax and wealth tax laws.
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 2, 3 and 4
  • C. 1, 2 and 4
  • D. 1, 3 and 4

Q5. Under the DoPT clarificatory letter of 14 October 2004, an OBC candidate whose parent served in a public sector undertaking for which post-equivalence had not yet been determined could be treated as belonging to the creamy layer only if the relevant income exceeded the prescribed ceiling for a minimum of how many consecutive years?

  • A. Two
  • B. Five
  • C. Three
  • D. Seven

Q6. Consider the following statements comparing the DoPT clarification of 2004 with the Office Memorandum of 1993 on the OBC creamy layer: 1. The 1993 Office Memorandum applied the creamy-layer criteria to officers in equivalent and comparable posts in public sector undertakings and banks without specifying which posts were equivalent, whereas the 2004 clarification allowed an income test to be applied to such employees pending determination of equivalence. 2. The annual income ceiling for the creamy layer, fixed at Rs 1 lakh in 1993, stood revised to Rs 2.5 lakh in 2004. 3. The 2004 clarification required that salary income and income from other sources be added together before applying the annual income ceiling. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The 1993 Office Memorandum applied the creamy-layer criteria to officers in equivalent and comparable posts in public sector undertakings and banks without specifying which posts were equivalent, whereas the 2004 clarification allowed an income test to be applied to such employees pending determination of equivalence.
  2. The annual income ceiling for the creamy layer, fixed at Rs 1 lakh in 1993, stood revised to Rs 2.5 lakh in 2004.
  3. The 2004 clarification required that salary income and income from other sources be added together before applying the annual income ceiling.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 2 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q7. The application before the Supreme Court seeking clarification of the 2026 creamy-layer judgment, and permission to complete service allocation of the affected Civil Services Examination recommendees on the earlier wealth/income test, has been moved principally by which one of the following?

  • A. The Union Public Service Commission, which conducts the examination concerned
  • B. The Department of Personnel and Training
  • C. The National Commission for Backward Classes, a constitutional body
  • D. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, the nodal ministry for OBC welfare

Q8. Consider the following statements regarding the Civil Services Examination, 2025, whose recommendees' service allocation is caught up in the creamy-layer litigation: 1. A total of 958 candidates were recommended for appointment to various services. 2. The recommended candidates included 299 women. 3. Forty-two persons with benchmark disabilities figured among those recommended. 4. The Centre has submitted that the judgment's retrospective implications reach back to service matters settled since 2004. Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

  1. A total of 958 candidates were recommended for appointment to various services.
  2. The recommended candidates included 299 women.
  3. Forty-two persons with benchmark disabilities figured among those recommended.
  4. The Centre has submitted that the judgment's retrospective implications reach back to service matters settled since 2004.
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 2, 3 and 4
  • D. 1, 2 and 4

Q9. Consider the following statements regarding Indra Sawhney v. Union of India and later reservation jurisprudence: 1. The case was decided on 16 November 1992 by a nine-judge Bench of the Supreme Court. 2. It upheld 27% reservation for Other Backward Classes in civil posts and services under the Union, subject to exclusion of the creamy layer. 3. The ceiling of 50% on total reservation laid down in that case was subsequently held by the Supreme Court to bind reservation for the Economically Weaker Sections as well. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The case was decided on 16 November 1992 by a nine-judge Bench of the Supreme Court.
  2. It upheld 27% reservation for Other Backward Classes in civil posts and services under the Union, subject to exclusion of the creamy layer.
  3. The ceiling of 50% on total reservation laid down in that case was subsequently held by the Supreme Court to bind reservation for the Economically Weaker Sections as well.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1 and 3 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q10. In the law relating to reservation for Other Backward Classes in India, the expression 'creamy layer' denotes which one of the following?

  • A. The most disadvantaged sub-groups within a backward class, for whom a separate sub-quota may be earmarked
  • B. Backward-class candidates who qualify on their own merit and are therefore adjusted against unreserved vacancies
  • C. Socially advanced members of a backward class, who are to be kept out of the benefit of reservation
  • D. Communities that appear in the Central List of Backward Classes but not in the corresponding State list

Q11. The creation of supernumerary posts to accommodate OBC candidates who had earlier been kept out of reservation benefits solely on the strength of a parent's salary derives its authority from which one of the following?

  • A. An amendment to the Office Memorandum of 1993 issued by the Department of Personnel and Training
  • B. A recommendation of the National Commission for Backward Classes in its annual report to the President
  • C. A provision of the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006
  • D. The Supreme Court's judgment of 11 March 2026

Q12. Consider the following statements comparing the treatment of different reserved categories in India: 1. The creamy-layer exclusion is presently applied to Other Backward Classes in central government reservation, but not to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes. 2. A seven-judge Bench of the Supreme Court in 2024 permitted sub-classification within the Scheduled Castes, and some judges on that Bench favoured extending the creamy-layer exclusion to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. 3. The annual income ceiling of Rs 8 lakh used for the OBC non-creamy layer is also applied to determine eligibility of Scheduled Caste candidates for reserved posts under the Central Government. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The creamy-layer exclusion is presently applied to Other Backward Classes in central government reservation, but not to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.
  2. A seven-judge Bench of the Supreme Court in 2024 permitted sub-classification within the Scheduled Castes, and some judges on that Bench favoured extending the creamy-layer exclusion to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
  3. The annual income ceiling of Rs 8 lakh used for the OBC non-creamy layer is also applied to determine eligibility of Scheduled Caste candidates for reserved posts under the Central Government.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3