No SC interim order on quota to SC/ST in govt jobs

The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to pass an interim order against its 2006 verdict which dealt with the application of the ‘creamy layer’ for reservations to SC and ST categories in government job promotions.

A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud said a seven-judge Constitution bench is needed to consider the 2006 verdict M Nagraj verdict.

Attorney General KK Venugopal, appearing for the Centre, said the matter should be heard urgently by a seven-judge Constitution bench as lakhs of jobs in Railways and services are stuck due to confusion over various judicial pronouncements.

The bench said one Constitution bench is already seized of various matters and the issue can only be taken up in the first week of August.

On November 15 last year, the top court had said a fivejudge Constitution bench will examine the limited issue of whether the 2006 verdict delivered in M Nagaraj and other versus Union of India was required to be relooked at or not.

The M Nagaraj verdict had said the creamy layer concept cannot be applied to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes for promotions in government jobs like two earlier verdicts — 1992 Indra Sawhney and others versus Union of India (popularly called Mandal Commission verdict) and 2005 E V Chinnaiah versus State of Andhra Pradesh — which dealt with creamy layer in the Other Backward Classes category.