The SC has stirred up a hornet’s nest by ruling quotas in jobs and promotions are not mandatory

In a ruling that will have widespread ramifications in a country that has always been emotive about the quota issue, the Supreme Court has said that reservation in jobs and promotions is not a fundamental right and that the Government is not bound to provide diversity logic for appointments and promotions to public posts. It also said courts cannot give directions compelling States to reserve jobs or positions for Scheduled Castes and Tribes (SC/STs). In fact, States willing to provide quotas will have to get relevant data on under-representation of SC/STs in public jobs and ensure the creamy layer is not unduly benefitted at the expense of the most deserving. Understandably this has stirred up a hornet’s nest with the issue being raised in the Parliament and the Opposition Congress demanding that the Union Government either file a review petition in the apex court or amend the Constitution to make reservation a fundamental right.

While the quotas have been politicised over the years, the apex court has merely tried to make them practical, choosing to separate educational quotas from jobs, where efficiencies depend on merit and performance. It has also tried to pass on the agency to the Executive to decide which of the SC/STs really need protection and encouragement. It is true that except for the “creamy layer”, where generation after generation of those who have benefitted from the quota system have left poverty and deprivation far behind, the plight of the majority of the SC/STs has remained the same even over seven decades after Independence. Problem is by passing the decision-making to States, the quota clauses can be tweaked for political rather than social gains and further fragment the backward castes. That’s why our founding fathers, keenly aware of the inequities prevalent over centuries, made provisions for their uplift. In fact, even prior to India’s independence and the inclusion of reservations in the Constitution, several princely states provided benefits to the lower castes in some form or the other, which are present even today. Plus, this is a constitutional matter that should have been heard by the full Constitution Bench and not just a two-judge Bench of the apex court. In a matter that will have an impact in the entire country, the SC/STs should be represented properly, else it will be injustice against them all over again.

(Courtesy: The Pioneer)

The SC has stirred up a hornet’s nest by ruling quotas in jobs and promotions are not mandatory

In a ruling that will have widespread ramifications in a country that has always been emotive about the quota issue, the Supreme Court has said that reservation in jobs and promotions is not a fundamental right and that the Government is not bound to provide diversity logic for appointments and promotions to public posts. It also said courts cannot give directions compelling States to reserve jobs or positions for Scheduled Castes and Tribes (SC/STs). In fact, States willing to provide quotas will have to get relevant data on under-representation of SC/STs in public jobs and ensure the creamy layer is not unduly benefitted at the expense of the most deserving. Understandably this has stirred up a hornet’s nest with the issue being raised in the Parliament and the Opposition Congress demanding that the Union Government either file a review petition in the apex court or amend the Constitution to make reservation a fundamental right.

While the quotas have been politicised over the years, the apex court has merely tried to make them practical, choosing to separate educational quotas from jobs, where efficiencies depend on merit and performance. It has also tried to pass on the agency to the Executive to decide which of the SC/STs really need protection and encouragement. It is true that except for the “creamy layer”, where generation after generation of those who have benefitted from the quota system have left poverty and deprivation far behind, the plight of the majority of the SC/STs has remained the same even over seven decades after Independence. Problem is by passing the decision-making to States, the quota clauses can be tweaked for political rather than social gains and further fragment the backward castes. That’s why our founding fathers, keenly aware of the inequities prevalent over centuries, made provisions for their uplift. In fact, even prior to India’s independence and the inclusion of reservations in the Constitution, several princely states provided benefits to the lower castes in some form or the other, which are present even today. Plus, this is a constitutional matter that should have been heard by the full Constitution Bench and not just a two-judge Bench of the apex court. In a matter that will have an impact in the entire country, the SC/STs should be represented properly, else it will be injustice against them all over again.

(Courtesy: The Pioneer)