Indra Sawhney in plain English
The judgment that settled the 50% ceiling, explained without the Latin.
Research desk · Reviewed by Legal committee
The ceiling on reservation comes from case law rather than the text of the Constitution. This guide walks through what the Court actually decided, what it left open, and why the question keeps returning to the bench.
What was decided
The judgment treated affirmative action as an exception to the equality guarantee and held that, as a rule, total reservation should not exceed half of the available positions. It also directed the exclusion of the most advanced members of a backward class from the benefit — the origin of the creamy-layer rule.
What stayed open
The ruling allowed for extraordinary situations in which the ceiling might be relaxed, without exhaustively defining them. Several state enhancements above the ceiling rest on that opening and are under challenge — see the source documents attached to this guide for the current litigation.
A full clause-by-clause reading is in preparation; every claim above is carried by the linked documents.
Sources for this guide
- [1]JUDGMENTSupreme Court on roster points in promotionsPDF · 4.8 MB
- [2]JUDGMENTHigh Court order on 50% ceiling in state recruitmentPDF · 2.1 MB
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