The Hindu Explains | Basic question is how rich or advanced should a Backward Class section be to invite exclusion from reservation

SC has stood firmly by its principle that economic criterion alone cannot be the sole basis

For nearly 30 years, the Supreme Court has stood firmly by its principle that economic criterion alone cannot be the sole basis for identifying a Backward Class member as “creamy layer”. Other factors like social advancement, education, employment, too, matter. On August 24, a Division Bench of the Supreme Court led by Justice L. Nageswara Rao did not swerve from the settled position when it quoted that “the basis of exclusion of creamy layer cannot be merely economic”. The judgment came in a writ petition filed by a group from Haryana, Pichra Warg Kalyan Mahasabha, challenging two notifications issued by the State government in 2016 and 2018, successively, under the Haryana Backward Classes (Reservation in Services and Admission in Educational Institutions) Act of 2016. The first notification identified as “creamy layer” Backward Class members whose gross annual income exceeded ₹6 lakh. It said Backward Class sections whose families earn less than ₹3 lakh would get priority over their counterparts who earn more than ₹3 lakh but less than ₹6 lakh.