Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR, Dec 15: The Apex Court today gave interim relief to the reserved category employees of the State by staying the order of Jammu and Kashmir High Court in which the promotion of reserved categories was declared as null and void and unconstitutional.
The Supreme Court today ordered maintaining of status quo in a petition filed against the Judgment of Division Bench of Jammu and Kashmir High Court wherein reservation of promotion to employees of reserved categories was declared null and void and unconstitutional.
The Division Bench of Supreme Court comprising Justice Madan B Lokur and Justice S A Bobde ordered maintaining of status quo with regard to the issue of promotion to employees of reserved categories. The court also issued notice and sought reply from the State Government within four weeks time.
The Court order issued reads: “Issue notice returnable within four weeks. Status quo, as of today, be maintained in the meanwhile.”
The Judgment passed by the Division Bench of Jammu and Kashmir High Court on October 9 was challenged by the aggrieved persons by way of Special Leave Petition (SLP) before the Supreme Court.
The Division Bench of the High Court while referring various judgments of apex court also had held that the reservation made in terms of Section 6 of Reservation Act and Rules 9, 10 and 34 of the Reservation Rules is discriminatory and unconstitutional.
“It follows that while the court may not assume role of an appellate authority to look into and examine sufficiency of the material/date collected by the State to justify reservation, there nonetheless must be material available to indicate that such exercise was undertaken. The present case, respondents (State) have not produced any material to indicate that any exercise was ever undertaken by them to identify the Classes inadequately represented in the services of the Government employment or for that matter to identify section of the society as a backward class so as to warrant reservation promotions”, Division Bench had said while declaring the section 6 of Reservation Act of the State as ultra vires.
Court had rejected the argument that in promotion in terms of the Section 6 of the Act is restricted to the level of Deputy Secretary or equivalent grade and therefore would not tell upon efficiency in administrative machinery deserves to be allowed.
“The argument is not to save the reservation scheme envisaged under aforesaid provisions, when it is held ultra vires in Article 16 of the Constitution”, court held while dismissing the argument on this point.
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