Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court has asked two top government officials to explain why the “creamy layer” rule has not been applied to the reservations for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs). The court has given them six weeks to respond. This decision was made by a bench consisting of Acting Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Yara Renuka.
The court was hearing a case filed by Kannukuntla Manga, an assistant professor at a private college. She argued that the Telangana government had passed the Scheduled Castes (Rationalisation of Reservations) Act, 2025, but did not include the “creamy layer” rule as required by a Supreme Court decision in the Devender Singh vs. State of Punjab case.
Manga said that because the government did not apply the “creamy layer” rule, well-educated SCs and STs like her are missing out on important government job opportunities. According to her, this rule would help ensure that only the truly disadvantaged benefit from reservations.
She also told the court that she was not selected for the position of Child Development Project Officer in the Women Development and Child Welfare Department because the creamy layer rule was not applied. She added that she lost this chance even though the Supreme Court had clearly allowed the categorization of SCs and told states to apply the rule.
Her lawyer argued that without the creamy layer rule, more educated and qualified SCs and STs won’t be able to progress, and the goal of uplifting them will not be achieved.
The court has postponed the hearing for six weeks to allow time for the government to respond.
