Govt seeks clarification on SC/ST job promotion

New Delhi: The Centre has sought SC’s clarification on a recent ruling that left it to states to decide whether seats should be reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in job promotion.

Attorney General KK Venugopal sought SC’s clarification after a bench led by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde issued notices on a plea by Bihar to allow the state to continue with current reservation in promotion. The notices are returnable in four weeks when the court will deal with the issue again.

The ruling has created a political storm, though it said the law has been there since 2006. The Bihar application was filed by standing counsel Gopal Singh. Senior advocate Indira Jaising also urged for a quick resolution of the issue.


The CJI may constitute a Constitution Bench on all aspects pertaining to reservation in jobs. However, the Centre and Bihar government have drawn SC’s attention to the administrative logjam created by ‘conflicting verdicts’ of different benches of the Supreme Court and high courts and have sought an interim clarification.

The SC had in a ruling in 2006 upheld reservation in promotion. In a series of subsequent rulings, it reaffirmed the position and allowed states to provide reservation as per existing law laid down in the Nagraj case. In another verdict, the court upheld a Karnataka law providing for reservation in promotion with consequential seniority. It was the first instance when the court upheld such a law. The court also delinked the requirement for the state to hold a study on the need for such reservation and also clarified that the creamy lawyer concept would be applied to such reservation too.