SC clear decks for reservation in promotion to SC/ST employees

New Delhi, June 5 : In a major relief to the Centre, the Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed it to go ahead with reservation in promotion for employees belonging to the SC and ST category in “accordance with law”.
The top court took into account the Centre’s submissions that the entire process of promotion has come to a “standstill” due to the orders passed by various high courts and the apex court had also ordered for “status quo” in a similar matter in 2015.
The government said there were separate verdicts by the high courts of Delhi, Bombay and Punjab and Haryana on the issue of reservation in promotion to SC/ST employees and the apex court had also passed different orders on appeals filed against those judgments.
“We will say you (Centre) can go ahead with promotion in accordance with law,” a vacation bench comprising Justices Adarsh Kumar Goel and Ashok Bhushan told Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Maninder Singh, representing the Centre. During the hearing, the ASG cited the case laws on the issue of quota in promotion in government jobs and stated that the apex court’s 2006 judgment in M Nagaraj case would be applicable.