While determining the “creamy layer” among the OBCs, the Gov’t of West Bengal is making use of GOI, Dep’t of Personnel and Training O.M no.36012/22/93-Estt (SCT) dated 08.09.1993, wherein it is stated that sons/ daughters of “Group-A/Class-1 officers of the all India Central and State Services (direct recruits)” will come under the “creamy layer” and that the same principle will apply to officials of equivalent rank in the public sector / autonomous bodies. Following this principle, the Gov’t of West Bengal is rejecting applications for OBC certificates by sons/ daughters of Assistant Teachers (of non-Gov’t, aided schools, recognized by the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education) having the pay scale of Rs.6000-12000(pre-revised) or Rs.5500-11325 ( pre-revised), stating that they come under the “creamy layer”.
This is happening because, in the Central Gov’t, officers having the pay scale of Rs.8000-275-13500( pre-revised) and higher fall under the category of “Group-A/Class-1 all India Central Services”, while in the Gov’t of West Bengal, officers having the pay scale of Rs.4800-175-10175( pre-revised) fall under the category of ‘group- A’ as per a notification issued way back in 1976 by the Finance Department, Gov’t of West Bengal. There are no ‘class-1’ officers in Gov’t of West Bengal.
Thus, a Central Gov’t servant residing in West Bengal and having the central pay scale of Rs.7500-250-12000 or 7450-225-11,500 (pre-revised) will not come under the “creamy layer”,because he/she belongs to ‘Group-B’ central services, while a West Bengal Gov’t servant having a much lower pay scale of Rs.4800-175-10175, (pre-revised) and almost half of the gross pay of a “Group-A / Class-1 all India Central Services” officer, will come under “creamy layer, because he /she belongs to Group -A service of Gov’t Of West Bengal.
This is clearly discriminatory and goes against the very spirit of reservation based on socio- economic backwardness, where annual income is one of the most important criteria.
Following the Supreme Court judgement in the Indira Sawhney case (1990), the Gov’t of India had formed an expert committee to recommend the criteria for exclusion and the DOPT office memo quoted above followed the recommendations of the expert committee in letter and spirit. The expert committee had never thought of using different financial criteria for residents of different states or for employees of different governments. When it recommended for inclusion of all “Group-A/Class-1 officers of the all India Central and State Services (direct recruits)”, in the creamy layer, it meant that only those Group-A / Class-1officers of the “State Services”, who are enjoying pay scales equal to the “Group-A/Class-1 officers of the all India Central Services”, will come under creamy layer. That is why Group -A / Class-1officers of the Central and State services have been mentioned in the same category (and in the same sentence) with only an “and” connecting them.
But the case with the Gov’t of West Bengal is different. It is making a very mechanical application of the criteria for exclusion.
I appealed to the Gov’t of West Bengal to remove this discriminatory practice by passing an order clearly stating that while determining “creamy layer” among OBCs of West Bengal, only those West-Bengal Gov’t servants will be deemed to come under the “Group A / class I State Services” who are enjoying the pay scale (s) equal to “Group-A/Class-1 all India Central Services” i.e. Rs.8000-275-13500 ( pre-revised) and higher,
The Gov't of W.B informed me that it had nothing to do with the matter since it was merely following the rules made by the Gov't of India.
When I approached the National Commission for Backward Classes and the DoPT, Gov't of India, they informed me that rules made by the Gov't of India are applicable for reservation of posts for recruitments made by or under the Gov't of India only.
My question is : Is this a fit case for a PIL before the Hon'ble Supreme Court ? If yes can any NGO/ civil rights organization take up this matter ?
