Govt pitches for quota in promotions

NEW DELHI: The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government told the Supreme Court on Friday that scheduled castes (SCS) and scheduled tribes (STS) had suffered social inequalities for years and, for the purpose of extending them reservations in government jobs promotions, it should be presumed that they remain underprivileged communities even now.

“It represents thousands of years of backwardness. Affirmative action will have to proceed on the basis of Article 335. State will have to presume that there is backwardness,” attorney general KK Venugopal told a five-judge bench led by CJI Dipak Misra.

Article 335 of the constitution says the State will take into consideration the claims of SCS/STS in making appointments to services and posts.

The bench, also comprising justices Kurian Joseph, RF Nariman, SK Kaul and Indu Malhotra, is considering whether a 2006 Supreme Court judgment, delivered in what is referred to as the Nagaraj case, requires a reconsideration. The apex court had then ruled the State must back the reservations in promotion policy for SCS and STS with quantifiable data to show that the communities do not have adequate representation. It also said that while granting quotas, the State must keep in view the aspect of overall administrative efficiency.

Since then, the issue has become intensely political with Dalit groups, as well as major political parties, arguing that the verdict blocked reservations in promotions for those belonging to the marginalised communities. In 2012, the legislative route was adopted to alter this, but it could not muster support in the Lok Sabha. In June, the vacation bench of the SC issued an interim order clarifying that the government could go ahead with reservations in promotion.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has claimed that there was no possibility of revoking reservations in promotion. His rivals, particularly the Bhaujan Samaj Party’s Mayawati, have argued that the government has deliberately undermined and blocked reservations. It is an issue with electoral resonance among Dalit and tribal students, government employees, and the middle class.