Supreme Court refuses to reconsider order on SC/ST quota for promotions
New Delhi, Sep 26 : The Supreme Court Wednesday said its 2006 verdict putting benefits of quotas in job promotions for SC/ST employees need not be referred to a seven-judge bench.
The apex court also turned down the Centre's plea that overall population of SC/ST be considered for granting quota for them.
The unanimous judgement was pronounced by a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra.
The bench, also comprising Justices Kurian Joseph, R F Nariman, S K Kaul and Indu Malhotra, said states need not collect quantifiable data on backwardness of SC/ST for giving quota in job promotion to SC/ST employees.
The bench did not comment on two other conditions given in the 2006 verdict which dealt with adequacy of representation of SC/ST in promotion and not to disturb administrative efficiency.
The court's verdict came on petitions seeking that a seven-judge bench reconsiders the court's 2006 judgement which had put conditions for granting quota benefits in job promotions for SC/ST employees.
The bench had reserved its verdict on August 30 after hearing various stakeholders, including the Centre, on the matter.
A five-judge constitution bench, in its 2006 verdict in the M Nagraj case, had said the states are bound to provide quantifiable data on the backwardness of Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST), the facts about their inadequate representation in government jobs and the overall administrative efficiency, before providing quota in promotions to members of these communities.
The Centre and various state governments have also sought reconsideration of this verdict on various grounds, including that the members of the SC and ST communities are presumed to be backward and considering their stigma of caste, they should be given reservation even in job promotions.
The Centre has alleged that the verdict in the M Nagraj case had put unnecessary conditions in granting quota benefits to the SC and ST employees and sought its reconsideration by a larger bench.
Attorney General K K Venugopal, appearing for the Centre, had strongly argued in favour of granting quota to SC and ST employees, saying there was a presumption of backwardness in their favour.
He had said the SC and ST communities have been facing caste-based discrimination for long and the stigma of caste is attached to them despite the fact that some of them have come up.
During one of the hearings, senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, who represents those opposing quota in promotions, had told the bench that earlier there was presumption of backwardness with regard to scheduled caste and scheduled tribe communities.
There should not be quota in promotions for higher services as the presumption of backwardness of SC and ST employees "vanishes" once they join government service, he had claimed.
Dwivedi had also said quota in promotions for SC/ST may be continued for class-IV and class-III services, but should not be allowed for higher services.
Earlier, the top court had questioned the logic behind granting quota in promotions in government jobs to the kith and kin of affluent persons among the SC and ST communities who have been holding high official positions.
It had asked why the 'creamy layer' principle, used to exclude the affluent among other backward classes (OBCs) from enjoying the fruits of reservation, cannot be made applicable to deny quota benefits in promotion to those affluent among the SC and ST communities.
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Pvt bus operators demand immediate hike in payment rates for buses requisitioned by EC
Kolkata (PTI): A representative body of private bus operators in West Bengal on Tuesday demanded an immediate announcement of higher payment rates for requisitioned vehicles to be deployed during the assembly elections next month, alleging that repeated appeals to the Election Commission in this regard have been ignored.
In a letter to the Chief Electoral Officer, the Joint Council of Bus Syndicate said that despite two rounds of communication with the authorities, no decision has yet been conveyed to them for hiking the rates for acquiring buses and minibuses for poll duty.
Even after two letters to the CEO’s office regarding the fare for the acquisition of buses/minibuses for elections, the operators have not received any decision so far, Syndicate Secretary Tapan Banerjee told PTI.
“The election dates have been announced for April 23 and 29. Central forces have already arrived in the state, and the administration has begun to requisition the buses for their movement. But we are yet to know the EC’s response to our demands,” he said.
“As we have to bear the expenses of fuel and wages of our conductors and drivers, our demand must be addressed immediately,” Banerjee added.
The bus operators have placed a detailed set of demands, including revised daily rates excluding fuel costs. “We demand Rs 4,000 per day (excluding diesel) for ordinary buses, Rs 4,500 for express buses, and Rs 5,500 for AC buses,” the letter stated.
In addition, the union has sought a daily allowance for workers.
“A daily allowance of Rs 500 must be provided to workers on duty,” it said.
The letter also stressed payment terms, demanding advance compensation and timely settlement of dues.
“At least 75 per cent of the payment should be made in advance, and the remaining amount must be cleared within 15 days of bill submission,” the union said.
Raising concerns about workers’ voting rights, the union further stated, “Arrangements for postal ballots must be ensured for workers on duty so that no worker is deprived of voting.”
Among other logistical concerns, the union demanded that a bus from one district should not be deployed in another.
