Terming the move unconstitutional, the Supreme Court has quashed Uttar Pradesh government’s decision to provide reservation benefits for SCs, STs & OBCs in promotions to higher posts saying the same was done without any sufficient data.
Upholding a bunch of petitions filed by aggrieved general category employees challenging the reservation in promotions, the apex court said the State failed to furnish sufficient valid data to justify the move to promote employees on caste basis.
“The conditions precedent have not been satisfied. No exercise has been undertaken. What has been argued with vehemence is that it is not necessary as the concept of reservation in promotion was already in vogue.
“We are unable to accept the said submission, for when the provisions of the Constitution are treated valid with certain conditions or riders, it becomes incumbent on the part of the State to appreciate and apply the test so that its amendments can be tested and withstand the scrutiny on parameters laid down therein,” a bench of justices Dalveer Bhandari and Dipak Mishra said.
In this case, the employees had challenged the validity of the provisions contained in Rule 8-A of the U.P Government Servants Seniority Rules, 1991, which provided for promotions to SC, ST, OBC employees for higher posts.
While a two-judge bench of the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court had quashed the rule as unconstitutional, another two-judge bench of the High Court upheld the reservation, after which the employees and the UP government filed appeals in the apex court.
The apex court said the rule was contrary to the various judgements by the Constitution benches in the M Nagara, Indra Sawhney and various other cases wherein it was provided that reservation in promotions can be provided only if there is sufficient data and evidence to justify the need.
Keywords: reservation issue, India backward classes, SCs, STs & OBCs
Please give them jobs and promotions without conducting any exams for them, and select to a new post and thereby reducing the government expenditure.
If meritocracy was the only criteria that brings about promotion then SC judgement is justified but this world is not one-dimensional, if everybody closes their eyes towards the atmosphere of bias-ness based on caste and assert that everybody is treated equally socially then it is a lie to oneself. If one wants equality to be sustainable, then measures of empowerment should be brought about for vulnerable sections at every level even if progress is slow. True empowerment can bring equality, and not vice-versa. Hampering these measures of empowerment means hampering development of our country as a whole.
In my opinion reservation at entry level should be checked and made affirmative so that real needy ones even in reserved category should get it and they can rise on to upper level systematically and eliminate their problems progressively. If this cycle continues then development of all sections will be more even which will finally bring about true equality in this society.
I think that due to higher level of creamy layer limit will make a new
upper class within the backward &sc –st category and then whole
process of reservation became useless because actual poor people remain
struggling to richest beneficiary in reservation category.
Will other states like MP where a five year experienced lecturer superceed 18 years senior one,automatically follow the decision or will wait for their employees to go to the court?
This judgement should open eyes of the politician who want to use vote bank politics and manipulate certain sections of the population. While it is fair to have an affirmative action plan, manipulating it for political reasons actually hurts the real purpose of the reservations - That is it deprives the very people who actually need the reservations most.
its really a problem on one hand politicians raise hopes in these communities ignoring totally that before constitution and God all are equal on the other hand they (politicians-janta ke sevak) don't cares for how much frustration it creates when a deserving one deprived for none of his fault that he was borne in a so called upper cast
Reservation originally was meant to give a helping hand for the disadvantaged. Disadvantage a person faces is multifactorial including, gender, economic status, educational level of prents, where one lives - urban Vs rural, types of school one is able to attend -private vs public. Once a person has aattained certain level of education and economic level it will be unfair to favor that person on the basis of caste for promotion. It will be unfair to others who are not so favorred; it violates constitutional guarentee of equal treatment of all citizens and promotes ineffciency. Judiciary is the only resort to prevent the ploy of policticians to keep themselves in power at the cost of the nation.
Right judgement; while we try to help the backward to get jobs on quota, as they would not get chance otherwise (on merit basis), there is no need for promotion on this basis; at this rate, we can divide all jobs, including MPs and Ministers and allot it to the backward; while selected few will move upwards in money and status, large majority will remain in poverty; and privilege of promotion, if included, will make it so comfortable for them that they need not work at all; and while they go forward in assets, country will go backward in development !!
Also there is URGENT need to ensure once a backward family is helped to rise economically that sector (creamy layers as termed) should be exempted from enjoying reservation privilege- e.g. why should a BC youth with father in IAS and grandfather as Judge be allowed any special consideration? Let the less fortunate gain the benefit eh !
Position and power helps to corner all benefits sure; Pity indeed.
Wonder when, and if, such an order will be passed for the All India services. Quota at the entry level is fine, but a quota at each and every level defeats the idea of meritocracy and the rise of the best to the top. This is what is affecting our Public Sector units, and the government as a whole.
A policy like the Affirmative Action of the US for the Blacks and Coloured people, and the Ethnic Indian population should be worked out for the really needy people in India, with a honest implementation of a 'creamy layer'. This is to ensure that those who benefit once do not get repeated benefits at the cost of other needy people.
The government should think of this, and restrict reservations to only the entry levels. It would be best for India.
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