Kerala High Court: Salary Income Counts in Creamy Layer Test for Private Sector Employees
The Kerala High Court has ruled that salary income from private sector employment cannot be excluded when determining whether a person falls under the 'Creamy Layer' category for reservation benefits. The decision came in a petition filed by two students seeking non-creamy layer certificates to claim reservation in admissions to professional degree courses.
Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas observed that excluding such income would lead to anomalous situations contrary to the constitutional principles behind the Creamy Layer concept. The court noted that the test for classifying individuals as Creamy Layer includes assessing their total income and wealth, regardless of the source of employment.
The petitioners had argued that under the governing law, salary income should be excluded from the computation. However, the court rejected this interpretation, stating that if adopted, it would enable the Creamy Layer to grab benefits meant for the truly backward classes, thereby suppressing the voice of the non-creamy layer.
The court found that both petitioners came from financially well-off families. One petitioner's father earned ₹1.12 crore annually and owned two flats, five cents of land, an Audi, and a Honda City. The other petitioner's father worked at a multinational bank in the UK, earning close to ₹33 lakh annually. Their combined income and assets far exceeded the ₹8 lakh annual income limit prescribed for non-creamy layer status.
Consequently, the court held that the petitioners were not entitled to non-creamy layer certificates. The judgment reaffirms that gross annual income, including salaries, is the primary factor for assessing Creamy Layer status for private sector employees, consistent with the principles of social justice and reservation policy.
