The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved its judgment in the case relating to the issue of reservation in promotion to Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in government jobs.
Centre earlier told the SC that granting reservations to SC/ST employees for promotions in government jobs would not be affecting the administration's efficiency. The Centre later pointed out the percentage of the population of the SCs/STs and OBCs combined was 52 per cent compared to the total population.
"If the entirety of the population of all these three classes were to find seats and posts reserved in proportion to the totality of their population, what would have to be reserved is 74.5 per cent, which would defeat the limit of 50 per cent (ceiling limit for reservation)," the Centre told the SC.
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Later, the bench headed by Justice Nageswara Rao reserved the judgement after hearing all the parties. The parties included Attorney General K.K. Venugopal along with another lawyer for the Centre, and also many senior lawyers appearing for various state governments.
The AG had submitted that deciding the adequacy of representation by SCs and STs in educational institutions or in government employment, the basis of reservation must be kept in mind to decide what should be the standard to be applied for deciding adequacy.
The Centre said for government employees, the proportion of the population of SCs to the total population of the country, and, similarly, the proportion of the population of the STs to the total population, has been taken.
"The most certain and definite way of finding out if there is inadequacy is to find out if, to implement affirmative action, which was the basis of providing for reservation, the standard laid down looking at the proportion of the SC and STs to the population of the country or the state in question was followed. This standard would be certain and definite," it said.
The top court had earler said will not reopen its decision in this regard and that it was for the state governments to decide how they will implement the same.
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The Centre pointed out that the proportion to the population of SCs was 15 per cent, the STs was 7.5 per cent, and the proportion of OBCs to the total population of the country was 52 per cent.
