SC reserves judgement over reservation for SCs, STs in government job promotions

The Supreme Court on October 26 reserved its judgement on the issue of granting reservations to the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) staff in government job promotions.

A three-judge bench headed by Justice Nageswara Rao heard all the parties in the matter including Attorney General KK Venugopal, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Balbir Singh, and other senior lawyers appearing for various states. The Centre had earlier told the bench, also comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and B R Gavai, that it is a fact of life that even after around 75 years of independence those belonging to SCs and STs have not been brought to the same level of merit as those belonging to dominant classes.

Venugopal had submitted that it is more difficult for those belonging to the SCs and STs to get a higher post in group A category of jobs and time has come for the apex court to give concrete basis for the SCs, STs, and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) to fill up vacancies. The bench had earlier said it would not reopen its decision on the issue of the grant of reservation in promotion to the SCs and STs and said it was for the states to decide how they are going to implement the same.