The Supreme Court has said states cannot determine "creamy layer" from backward classes, solely on the basis of economic criterion or annual income, as it quashed a notification issued by Haryana by which sections of backward classes earning above Rs 6 lakh per annum were to be considered as a creamy layer.

Citing the top court's judgment in Indra Sawhney case (Mandal Commission case) (1992), a bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and Aniruddha Bose observed that "this Court directed state governments to identify 'creamy layer' amongst the backward classes and exclude them from the purview of reservation".