Supreme Court Clarifies Judgment On OBC-Creamy Layer Parental Salary Computation

The case concerns the Union of India's request to clarify the temporal application of a Supreme Court judgment dated 11.03.2026 regarding the determination of OBC creamy-layer status based on parental salary, specifically seeking to prevent retrospective disruption of completed service allocations and admissions.

Who it concerns: Applicants: Union of India and others; Respondents: Rohith Nathan and others; Bench: Not stated in the provided text.

What the court decided

• The Court clarified that the Miscellaneous Applications are confined to delineating the ambit of the operative directions and clarifying the temporal application of the principle from the 11.03.2026 judgment.
• The Court stated that the interpretation of the 1993 OM and 2004 Letter, and the rejection of mechanical exclusion based on salary income, are not open to reconsideration.
• The Court distinguished between the adjudication of individual claims (inter partes) and the application of the legal principle, noting that the direction concerning supernumerary posts is confined to the parties of the original litigation.
• The Court noted that the judgment does not direct a general revision of service allocations or seniority across successive recruitment years nor confer relief on non-parties.
• The Court emphasized the need to protect completed arrangements and facilitate an orderly transition, acknowledging that retrospective application may unsettle promotions and seniority.

Also in the document

• The Court explicitly stated that the applications do not warrant adjudication of any fresh cause of action or reconsideration of claims already decided.
• The Court noted that the binding force of the legal principle under Article 141 is distinct from the scope of the operative relief granted to the parties.