New Delhi, Feb. 23: The Supreme Court today iterated that the Centre was bound to evolve an effective means to exclude the “creamy layer’’ of OBCs from the ambit of reservation. This would ensure that the benefit goes only to those “who remain socially and educationally backward and not those who have ceased to be.”

The court said states, too, should try to evolve a criterion along these lines.

“It is trite that those who have reached the status of general category cannot be permitted to defeat the purport and object of the concept of ‘creamy layer’ as the idea of creamy layer was conceptualised on that philosophy,’’ a bench headed by Justice S.B. Sinha said, setting aside the method followed by Kerala to identify the creamy layer.

In 1997, following a court order, the Joseph Committee had evolved a criterion to identify the “creamy layer” and set the income limit at Rs 1.5 lakh. But the Kerala government, instead of accepting the recommendation, constituted the Narendran Committee to determine the criteria.

This panel doubled the income limit to Rs 3 lakh, allowing many people who would otherwise fall in the “creamy layer” slab to avail themselves of the benefits of reservation.

Besides increasing the income slab, seven categories of hereditary occupations/callings were also excluded from the “creamy layer” category.

The Supreme Court set this aside, pointing out that the committee had given no justification for raising the income bar.

“While fixing the income limit, although a state can take into consideration the level of literacy, village income, rise of living index and other relevant factors, it should not have accepted a report of the committee that did not proceed scientifically,’’ it said.