Overview

• On June 23, a bench led by Justices K.V. Viswanathan and N. Kotiswar Singh directed all states and union territories to file written submissions by July 22 in a PIL seeking to amend OBC certificate rules for children of single mothers.
• The petition challenges existing guidelines that require children to produce paternal lineage documents—such as their father’s or grandfather’s certificate—to obtain OBC status.
• The central government has backed the proposal, advising that children should be able to get OBC certificates based on either the mother's or father's credentials, subject to custody and upbringing considerations.
• The court has asked parties to address how inter-caste marriages should be treated and to factor in the creamy layer principle when devising uniform criteria.
• Justices referenced past rulings on SC/ST certificate issuance and signalled plans to adopt similar principles in framing new guidelines for the OBC category.