Matter won’t go to 7-judge bench

THE APPEAL RELATES TO WHAT IS REFERRED TO AS THE NAGARAJ JUDGMENT IN 2006

NEWDELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused a plea from the government to reconsider a 2006 ruling which, the government says, has held up efforts to provide reservation for members of SC/ST communities in government jobs.

The appeal relates to what is referred to as the Nagaraj judgment in 2006, when the top court said reservations in quotas can be provided on the basis of three conditions: that there was quantifiable data of the backwardness of a caste, that there was quantifiable data that the caste was under-represented in the particular cadre, and the performance of the candidate being considered for promotion.

The government sought that that ruling, which was delivered by a five-judge bench, now be reconsidered by a seven-judge bench. In addition, the government also sought that the concept of creamy layer – the practice of excluding people who are well-to-do from reservations – be done away with.

The court denied the requests, but said one of the yardsticks laid down in the 2006 ruling – that of needing to gather quantifiable data for backwardness – does not hold.

“Collecting quantifiable data to determine backwardness of the SC/ST communities as laid down in the Nagaraj judgment was bad in law,” the order said.