Reservations in jobs & promotions not a fundamental right: Supreme Court

February 9 : In a landmark judgement, the Supreme Court of India said that states are not bound to provide reservation in appointments and there is no fundamental right to claim quota in promotions. The ruling of the top court came on a clutch of petitions connected with reservation to SCs and STs in promotions in the posts of Assistant Engineer (Civil) in Public Works Department, Government of Uttarakhand, where the government had decided against reservations.

Setting aside Uttarakhand High Court’s order, bench of the apex court comprising Justices L Nageswara Rao and Hemant Gupta observed that the state “cannot be directed to provide reservations for appointment in public posts” and also “the state is not bound to make a reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in matters of promotions.”

The top court observed the state government has the absolute discretion to decide whether or not to provide for reservation in jobs or reservation in promotions. Also, the state government is not under any obligation to do so. The bench clarified that Articles 16(4) and 16(4-A) are in the nature of enabling provisions but the same do not confer a fundamental right to claim reservations in promotions and other such areas as mentioned in the said articles of the Constitution.

In saying reservation for appointment and promotion was a matter of discretion the court also cautioned that states had to justify decisions – to be taken on basis of quantifiable data – if those were to be challenged. Veteran Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday demanded that the union government either file a review petition in the Supreme Court or amend the Constitution to make reservation a fundamental right in the wake of the recent apex court order.