There should be No Reservation in Promotions – Supreme Court
Supreme Court in a landmark judgement has
ruled out reservation in promotion for SC/ST categories.
New Delhi: January 10
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has ruled that
there could be no quota for SC and ST employees for top posts in public sector
banks but reservation for them was permissible in posts from scale-I till
scale-VI.
A bench of J.Chelameswar and A.K.Sikri held
that though there was no provision for reservation in promotion in banks for
officers from scale-I onwards but an office memorandum issued by Department of
Public Enterprises in November 2004 permitting quota up to scale-VI.
The bench informed that “the policy of no
reservation in the matter of promotion is applicable only from Scale-VII and
above. It, therefore, clearly follows that in so far as promotion from Scale-I
to Scale-II, Scale-II to Scale-III, Scale-III to Scale-IV, Scale-IV to Scale-V,
Scale-V to Scale-VI are concerned, reservation is to provided”. The bench said:
“It is clarified that at present there is no provision for reservation in
promotion by selection only in respect of those posts which carry an ultimate
of 5,700/- per month (revised to 18,300 and 20,800/- per month in respect of
those public sector undertakings following IDA pattern). Qua (with regard to)
appellant Banks, that would be in respect of Scale-VII and above. Therefore, to
carry out promotions from Scale-I upwards upto Scale-VI, reservation in
promotion in favour of SC/ST employees has to be given.”
The court passed the order on a bunch appeals
filed by banks challenging the Madras HC order directing them to provide
reservation on the ground that there is no adequate representation of SC/ST
category of officers in Group-IV and above.
The apex court held that HC in its verdict of
2009 has gone by the lofty ideals enshrined in Articles 15 and 16 of the
Constitution as well as the fact that in there banks there is no adequate
representation of SC/ST category of officers in Group-IV and above.
“That may be so. It can only provide
justification for making a provision of this nature.
“However, in the absence of such provision,
same cannot be read by overstretching the language of office memorandum dated
August 13, 1997?, it said.
Clarifying its verdict, the bench said, it
would have the effect of allowing the writ petitions with directions to the
appellant banks to make provision for reservations while carrying out
promotions from Scale-I to Scale-II and upward upto Scale-VI.
Source: www.govemployees.in
