Reservation in public employment

The Supreme Court refused to order interim stay of a Patna High Court decision quashing reservation up to 65% for the Backward Classes, the Extremely Backward Classes, the Scheduled Castes, and the Scheduled Tribes in public employment and institutions.

Article 16 of the Constitution:

(1)There shall be equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters relating to employment or appointment to any office under the State.

(2)No citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth, residence or any of them, be ineligible for, or discriminated against in respect of, any employment or office under the State.

Exceptions:

(1)Parliament can prescribe residence as the condition for certain employment or appointment in a state or union territory or local authority or other authority.

(2)The state can provide for reservation of office or appointment for post in favor of any backward class that is not adequately represented in the state services. Also the state is empowered to provide for reservations in promotions, with consequential seniority, in services under the state in favour of SC and ST that are not adequately represented in the state services. Further the state is empowered to consider the unfilled reserved vacancies of a year as a separate class of vacancies and are not to be combined with the vacancies of the year in which they are being filled up to to determine the ceiling of 50% reservation on total num of vacancies of that year.

(3)A law can provide that the incumbent of an office in connection with the affairs of any religious or denominational institution or any member of the governing body thereof shall be a person professing a particular religion or belonging to a particular denomination.

(4)The state is empowered to make special provision for the reservation of up to 10% of appointments or posts in favour of any economically weaker section. This reservation of 10% will be in addition to the existing reservation.

Mandal Commission:

ØThe Mandal Commission or the second Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Commission, was established in India in 1979 with a mandate to "identify the socially or educationally backward classes" of India.

ØIt was headed by B. P. Mandal and submitted its report in 1980 and was implemented in 1990.

ØThe Commission reported that 52% of the country’s population was comprised of OBCs. Initially, the commission argued that the percentage of reservations in government service should match this percentage.

ØHowever, this would have gone against the Supreme Court ruling in M.R. Balaji vs State of Mysore case (1963) which had laid down a limit of 50% on. There was already a 22.5% reservation for SCs and STs.

ØTherefore, the figure of reservation for OBCs was capped at 27% which when added to keep the reservation below the 50% mark.

ØThe Commission also identified backward classes among non-Hindus.

Recommendations of Mandal Commission:

ØOBCs must be provided a reservation of 27% in public sector and government jobs.

ØThey should be provided with the same 27% reservation in promotions at all levels of public services.

ØThe reserved quota, if unfilled, should be carried forward for a period of 3 years.

ØOBCs should be provided age relaxation similar to SCs and STs.

ØReservations to be made in PSUs, banks, private sector undertakings receiving government grants, colleges, and universities.

ØThe government to make the necessary legal provisions to implement these recommendations.

V.P.Singh government in 1990 introduced 27% reservation

In 1991 Narshima Rao government introduced two changes

1Preference to poorer among the OBCs

2Introduction of additional 10% reservation to the economically weaker section

In Indira Sawhney case the supreme court :

ØUpheld the validity of 27% reservation for OBCs

ØRejected the 10% reservation for economically weaker section.

ØNo reservation in promotion

ØReservation should not exceed 50%

ØCarry forward rule shouldnotviolate 50% quota

ØA permanent statutory body should be established

Ram nandhan committee was appointed to identify the creamy layer in 1993

National backward class commission was established in 1993 by an act of the parliament

Later 108 ammendment act of 2018 gave constitutional status to the National Backward class commission

ØIn order to nullify the order regarding the reservation in promotion the 77^th ammendment act was enacted in 1995. It added a new provision that empowered the state to provide for reservation in promotion in favor of SC and ST. again 85^th amendment act provided for consequential seniority in reservation by virtue of promotion.

Ø81^st amendment act was enacted to deal with the ruling regard to backlog vacancies. It empowered the state to treat any unfiled vacancies as a separate class of vacancies.

Note

76^th amendment act of 1994 placed Tamilnadu reservation act of 1993 in the 9^th schedule to protect it from judicial review asit provided for 69% reservation