Creamy layer: Centre asks Supreme Court to clarify its order to consider claims of 100-odd OBC candidates

On Monday, the Centre requested the Supreme Court to provide "clarifications and appropriate directions" regarding the March 11 judgment that mandated the consideration of claims by nearly 100 OBC candidates who were rejected by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) in Civil Services Examinations (CSE) since 2016. The petition, filed by the DoPT, comes as sources hinted that the government was preparing to implement the verdict.

The Centre's plea arrives ahead of the start of the Foundation Course for the CSE-2025 batch. The government contended that the March 11 judgment, issued five days after the final result of CSE-2025 was declared, would have a cascading effect, affecting training, cadre allocation, seniority, pay fixation, and subsequent recruitment cycles.

The Centre emphasized that its appeal was limited to CSE-2025, as the selection process was substantially concluded before the judgment's pronouncement. However, the DoPT's appeal did not mention the applicability of the Supreme Court judgment to future batches.