The Supreme Court on Wednesday put some searching questions to the pro-quota petitioners for propagating reservations without excluding the “creamy layer” saying this would not allow the disadvantageous class to come up and may lead to “clash in the society”.

“Will the creamy layer ever allow the disadvantageous class to come up. They are enjoying the cream. In short, creamy layer is like a higher caste who will not allow the really backward to come up,” a five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan observed.

“This will lead to a clash in the society. That is not the intent of reservation. This (reservation) is meant to bring up the most disadvantageous,” the Bench, which is examining the validity of the law providing 27 per cent quota to OBC in the Central Educational Institutions, said.

The remarks came when Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), a constituent of the ruling DPA in Tamil Nadu, pressed for providing reservations to the backward castes without excluding the creamy layer within it. The Bench allayed the apprehension that seats reserved for OBCs in educational institutes may remain vacant if the “creamy layer” was excluded from enjoying benefits of reservation.

“Do you have an idea of how many applications reach from backward class. It is much more than the seats for them,” the Bench, also comprising Justices Arijit Pasayat, C K Thakker, R V Raveendran and Dalveer Bhandari, said.

Senior advocate Ravivarma Kumar, appearing for PMK, said all backward classes recognised by the state were not included in the Central list.