Court: Supreme Court of India · Date: 16 November 1992 · Citation: AIR 1993 SC 477
Case
Indra Sawhney v. Union of India
Facts
Challenge to implementation of Mandal Commission recommendations for OBC reservations in Central services.
Legal issues
Validity and limits of OBC reservations in public employment after the Mandal Commission.
Law / provisions
Articles 16(4), 14, 15; creamy layer; 50% ceiling principles.
Holding
Upheld OBC reservations subject to creamy-layer exclusion and the general 50% ceiling (with limited exceptional discourse); shaped reservation jurisprudence for decades.
Key takeaways
- Reservation is a tool of equalisation — not an unlimited quota machine.
- Creamy layer and ceiling doctrines are core teaching points.
- Later amendments and cases refine, but Indra Sawhney remains the map.
Significance
Leading reservations judgment in public employment.
Primary source
https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1363234/
Verify the operative paragraphs on the court / reportable text. Indian Kanoon and similar mirrors are research aids, not certified copies.
Education desk note — Advocate Adesh Kumar — advadeshkumar.com
Educational content only. Not legal advice. Not solicitation. Not an official certified copy.