M. Nagaraj, who won a court battle on this issue in 2006, says there ought to be some judicial discipline, or every SC judgment will keep getting reversed.
New Delhi: M. Nagaraj, a retired Bengaluru-based PWD engineer who won a court battle against reservation in promotions in 2006, has said it would set a dangerous precedent if the Supreme Court agrees to reconsider the judgment after more than a decade.
Nagaraj was reacting to the Supreme Court’s decision to hear an appeal to reconsider the impugned judgment. In November 2017, the apex court referred the plea seeking a reconsideration of the Nagaraj judgment before a larger bench.
According to the judgment, states are not required to provide reservation in promotions to Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes in government sector jobs. However, the top court said states could make such provisions after they collect quantifiable data which indicates backwardness of the community, as well as proves its inadequate representation in the public sector.
Also Read: No honour for BJP government in distorting SC’s order on quota in promotions.
The Centre has appealed for reservation in promotions, submitting that it was “situation of impossibility” to apply the conditions laid out in the Nagaraj judgment in every case. It has further sought 22.5 per cent (15 percent SC plus 7.5 per cent ST) promotional posts reserved for the backward classes in the government sector.
Pandora’s Box
Speaking to ThePrint, Nagaraj said asking for a reconsideration of the judgment after 12 years was merely a ploy by the Centre to appease the backward classes.
“I am not against reservation in appointments,” Nagaraj said, clarifying that he was merely opposing the concept of reservation in promotions.
Nagaraj, who heads the All India Equality Forum, one of the impleaders in this matter, said: “Around eight benches of the apex court and innumerable high court judgments have relied on this judgment since 2006. What is the purpose of reopening the can of worms now?
“It is unfortunate that the matter has come up now. There ought to be some judicial discipline. If the SC allows reconsideration of this judgment, it will open a Pandora’s Box.
Also Read: Reservation in job promotion is a knot India has been struggling to untie
“Tomorrow, every judgment will come up for reconsideration. For all you know, if they reverse this now, five years later, someone else will come forward and ask for a reconsideration of this reversal. The cycle is never ending.”
Centre’s contention
On 2 August, the Centre submitted that affirmative action would be “illusionary” if reservation in promotions was not given to SC/STs. Attorney General K.K. Venugopal said on behalf of the Centre that SC/STs were presumed to be “backward” due to deprivation of opportunities for more than 1,000 years. Atrocities against them occur even today, he added.
“How do you establish inadequacy in representation? Is it for each post? Should it be for the entire department? How should this factor be determined?” Venugopal asked.
These questions of law were raised before a bench comprising Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, along with justices Kurian Joseph, Rohinton Nariman, Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Indu Malhotra, while seeking a review of the 12-year-old judgment.
What the Supreme Court said
While it will continue hearing arguments on 16 August, the top court said it did not need to hear individual states, and that individual matters would be taken up by appropriate benches if the Nagaraj case was not referred to a larger bench.
“Why has no state till date taken the endeavour to collect quantifiable data regarding inadequacy of SC/ST representation in different cadres of posts?” the bench asked.