SC/ST promotions: Karnataka to file review petition in apex court

BENGALURU: The Karnataka government will file a review petition in the Supreme Court with regard to the latter’s decision to strike down “consequential seniority” in promotions awarded for scheduled caste and scheduled tribe (SC and ST) employees since 1978.
Chief minister Siddaramaiah told reporters here on Saturday: “We are examining the apex court’s order.I have told the advocate-general and legal experts to file a review petition and also explore other legal options. We will chalk out the future course of action after discussing it with them.”
The apex court order, which envisages fair treatment to general category government employees with regard to promotions, has a far-reaching impact on the state’s political landscape as it comes at a time when the Siddaramaiah government is leaving no stone unturned to appease the SC and ST vote banks ahead of the 2018 assembly poll. Around 3,000 SC and ST employees working in 63 government departments are likely to lose the pole position they enjoyed with regard to promotions. Karnataka had introduced reservation in promotions on April 27, 1978: While SC employees were entitled to 15% reservation, ST employees were given 3%.
The apex court bench of Justices Adarsh K Goel and Uday U Lalit had declared on Thursday that the Karnataka Determination of Seniority of Government Servants Promoted on the Basis of Reservation (To the Posts in the Civil Services of the State) Act – 2002 was invalid, to the extent that it accorded “consequential seniority” to SC and ST employees.
The bench was hearing a petition filed by B K Pavithra, who stated that assistant engineers recruited in 1987 under the SC/ST category by Bangalore Development Authority were promoted to the cadre of assistant executive engineers (AEE) while assistant engineers recruited in 1976 under the general merit category waited for promotions to the same AEE cadre. The petitioners maintained that SC and ST candidates got promotions faster on account of consequential seniority and as a result, all higher positions in the department would be filled up by SC and ST candidates.
The apex court, while relying on the verdict delivered by the Constitutional Bench in the 2002 case of M Nagaraj versus Union of India, held that the state must demonstrate backwardness, inadequacy of representation and maintenance of efficiency before providing reservation in promotions. The court maintained: “The mere fact that there is no proportionate representation in promotional posts for the population of SCs and STs is not by itself enough to grant consequential seniority to promotees who are otherwise junior and thereby denying seniority to those who are given promotion later on account of reservation policy.”
While directing the government to revise the seniority list within three months, the court had stated that the judgment will not affect those employees who have retired.