LI Network
Published on: January 19, 2024 at 11:50 IST
The Kerala High Court has raised questions concerning the disparity in the calculation of income for issuing ‘Non-Creamy Layer Certificates’ to government and private employees.
The Court sought clarification from the state government, noting the exclusion of government employees’ salaries while computing income for granting these certificates, which provide OBC reservation benefits for students from Socially and Economically Backward Classes (SEBC).
Justice Devan Ramachandran expressed concerns about the classification of employees based on their affiliation with government or private sectors, stating that it lacked a reasonable nexus to the objective of granting ‘Creamy Layer Certificates.’ He emphasized that determining ‘Creamy Layer’ status is a factual matter and should not be diluted based on the type of employment, citing various legal pronouncements by the Supreme Court.
The issue arose when a student applied for a Non-Creamy Layer Certificate under the ‘Government Scheme for Excluding the Creamy Layer from the SEBC for Admission in Professional Degree Courses.’ The student’s father was employed in the private sector. The rejection of the certificate was based on the combined income of the father from his private sector job and other sources.
The student argued that the rejection contradicted the scheme’s provision, which states that ‘income from salaries and agricultural land shall not be clubbed.’ Despite this provision, her father’s income was combined, leading to the denial of the non-creamy layer certificate.
The Court, finding the classification of excluding government employees’ salaries from the income calculation to be lacking reasonable justification, sought clarification on the matter. It adjourned the case for the government pleader to provide instructions on why government servants’ salaries were excluded from the scheme’s income calculation.
Case title: Rajith V v State of Kerala