Supreme Court Upholds Law Implementing Quotas In Promotions For SC/ST Government Employees In Karnataka

The Karnataka Extension of Consequential Seniority to Government Servants Promoted on the Basis of Reservation (to the Posts in the Civil Services of the State) Act 2018, which allows state government employees in Karnataka belong to the Scheduled Castes (SC) or Scheduled Tribes (ST) to receive quotas in promotion along with consequential seniority, has been upheld by the Supreme Court, reports Business Standard.

As per a ‘catch-up’ clause in this act, SC and ST employees would get a one-time promotion. Previously the Karnataka government’s bid to implement quotas in promotions had run in trouble as the apex court sought quantifiable data to prove there was a need for such quotas.

The bench comprising of Justices UU Lalit and DY Chandrachud took into consideration the ruling of a Constitution bench of the Supreme Court that courts would not go into enquiring about the adequacy or inadequacy of numerical representation.

“… once an opinion has been formed by the state government on the basis of the report submitted by an expert committee which collected, collated and analysed relevant data, it is impossible for the court to hold that the compelling reasons... have not been established. Even if there were to be some errors in data collection, that will not justify the invalidation of a law which the competent legislature was within its power to enact,” the bench stated.