New Delhi: The Supreme Court has upheld the judgement passed by the Orissa High Court quashing a resolution of the state government regarding quota in promotion of SCs/STs.
The apex court has made it clear that reservation in promotion of scheduled castes (SCs) and scheduled tribes (STs) cannot be given without examining the adequacy of representation in promotional posts.
A two-judge bench of the court comprising Justices M Shantanagoudar and R Subhash Reddy referred to judgement passed in M Nagaraj case where the court had maintained that for giving the benefit of promotion with consequential seniority, the need to examine adequate representation in posts is a must.
“In absence of any amendment after Constitution (Eighty-Fifth) Amendment Act of 2001, by which Article 16(4A) was amended, benefit of seniority cannot be extended relying on Section 10 of Orissa Act 38 of 1975. In view of the stand of the respondent-state in the counter affidavit filed in the writ petition and further in view of the submission made by the learned counsel for the State of Orissa that no benefit of seniority was extended by any State Act or by any executive order by examining adequate representation in terms of Article 16(4A) of the Constitution, we do not find any merit in this appeal so as to interfere with the well reasoned judgment of the High Court,” the bench said.
Significantly, the impugned resolution was passed by the state government in 2002 to provide reservation to SCs and STs in promotion in Orissa government promotional posts in Orissa Administrative Service with consequential seniority.
Earlier, the HC had quashed the resolution mainly on the ground that unless and until the state government makes a law for conferring the benefit of promotion with consequential seniority to SC/ST candidates, they are not entitled to claim seniority in the promoted categories over the general category candidates.