Candidate whose parent entered Group-A service from Group-C after age 40 qualifies as OBC Non-Creamy Layer.

The applicant cleared the Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2024 with All India Rank 301

She sought reservation benefits under the Other Backward Classes (Non-Creamy Layer) [OBC-NCL] category.

Her father was initially recruited as a Group-C employee in CPWD at age 27 (1999) and was later directly recruited to a Group-A post (Scientist-B) at the age of 40 years and 29 days

Respondent No. 1 refused to treat her as an OBC-NCL candidate, contending that since her father was a Group-A officer, she fell within the "Creamy Layer" as per the Schedule to OM dated 08.09.1993

Whether a candidate whose parent was recruited into Group-C and subsequently entered Group-A service after the age of 40 (via direct recruitment) is excluded from OBC reservation benefits under the "Creamy Layer" criteria

Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) Office Memorandum (OM) dated 08.09.1993, specifically Category II of the Schedule regarding Service Category

DoPT Clarification dated 14.10.2004, which stipulates that if a father is a directly recruited Group-C employee who enters Group-A at or after age 40, his children are not treated as "Creamy Layer"

Union of India Ors. Vs. Divyanshu Patel (2018), holding that the expression "gets into Class I" includes both promotion and direct recruitment

Sarthak Singh Vs. Union of India Ors., which established that Category B (specific) overrides Category A (general) under the generalis specialibus non derogant principle

The Tribunal rejected the respondents' argument that the father’s status as a Group-A officer automatically triggered exclusion under Category II-A of the 1993 OM

The Bench reasoned that the intent of the 40-year age limit in Category II-B(b) is based on the "impressionable age" of the child; if a parent attains Group-A status after the child has likely grown up without the social/economic advantages of that status, the "creamy layer" exclusion should not apply

The Tribunal noted that the applicant's father entered Group-A at age 40 years and 29 days

Following the clarification in Para 7 of the 14.10.2004 DoPT note, the Tribunal found that a parent starting in Group-C who later "gets into" Group-A (regardless of the mode of entry) after age 40 protects the child’s NCL status

The Tribunal held the facts were identical to Divyanshu Patel and Sarthak Singh, which were previously upheld by the High Court and Supreme Court

The OA was allowed, and the Tribunal directed the respondents to treat the applicant as an OBC-NCL candidate for CSE 2024 and allocate her a service based on her rank (AIR 301) within six weeks