Full Judgment Text
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PETITIONER:
BIHAR STATE HARIJAN KALYAN PARISHAD
Vs.
RESPONDENT:
UNION OF INDIA & ORS.
DATE OF JUDGMENT01/03/1985
BENCH:
REDDY, O. CHINNAPPA (J)
BENCH:
REDDY, O. CHINNAPPA (J)
VENKATARAMIAH, E.S. (J)
CITATION:
1985 AIR 983 1985 SCR (3) 12
1985 SCC (2) 644 1985 SCALE (1)369
CITATOR INFO :
RF 1991 SC1173 (5)
ACT:
Constitution of India 1950, Article 16
Reservation of posts for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes-Group ’A’ services-Promotion by selection method-
Presidential Directive para 9 - Public Sector Undertaking-
Government communications denying benefit of reservation-
Quashed
HEADNOTE:
In case of promotion to posts promotion to which
are by the selection method, 15% and 7.5 per cent of posts
were to be reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes respectively. Para 9 of the Presidential Directive
provided that the aforesaid rule of reservation was also
applicable to promotions by selection to posts within Group
A’ carrying a salary of Rs. 2250 per month or less, and
prescribed that officers belonging to the Scheduled Castes
and Scheduled Tribes would be considered for promotion, who
are senior enough to be within the zone of consideration,
and described the procedure to be adopted.
By a letter dated the 8th April, 1982, the Ministry of
Steel and Mines, Department of Steel, informed the Chairman,
Steel Authority of India Limited, that in accordance with
para 9 of the Presidential Directive there was no
reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in
promotion by selection to posts within Group A’. This letter
in turn was followed up by a communication dated August 19,
1982 by the Steel Authority of India to the Chief Personnel
Manager, Bokaro Steel Plant stating that no reservation for
scheduled caste / scheduled tribe candidates in matters of
promotions to any grade within Group-A posts are to be
provided, since promotions within Group-A posts in the
company are based on selection method.
The writ petition of the Appellant, complaining that
the letter dated April 8, 1982 of the Ministry of Steel &
Mines and the letter dated August
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19, 1982 to the Chief Personnel Manager of Bokaro Steel
Plant purported to deny to the scheduled castes and
scheduled tribes the benefit of reservation in the matter of
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promotion to selection posts within Group ’A’, was summarily
dismissed by the High Court.
Allowing the Appeal to this Court,
^
HELD: 1. Para 9 of the Presidential Directive,
which deals with "concession to employees of Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes in promotions by selection
method" makes abundantly clear that the rule of reservation
is also applicable to promotions by selection to posts
within Group ’A’ which carry an ultimate salary of Rs. 2,250
per month or less. It however, prescribes a procedure
different from the usual procedure adopted in filling up
posts reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
[16F-G]
2. The letters of the Department of Steel dated 8th
April, 1982, and of the Steel Authority of India Ltd., dated
August 19, 1982 are contrary to para 9 of the Presidential
Directive. [17A]
3. The writ petition is allowed. The letters dated
April 8, 1982 and August 19, 1982 are quashed. The
respondents are directed to give effect to paragraph 9 of
the Presidential Directive. [17A]
JUDGMENT:
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No. 680 of
1985.
From the Judgment and order dated 1.2.1983 of the High
Court of Patna at Ranchi in C.W.J.C. No. 1152/82.
V.M. Tarkunde, P.H.Parekh and Miss Lata Krishnamurthi
for the petitioners.
V.A. Syed Mohammad, Abdul Khader, K.J. John, S.R.
Grover, Manjul Bajpayee, Goverdhan, C.V. Subba Rao, R.N.
Poddar, and Miss A Subhashini for the Respondents
The judgment of the Court was delivered by
CHINNAPPA REDDY, J. Special leave granted.
The Bihar State Harijan Kalyan Parishad whose writ
petition against the Steel Authority of India Ltd., the
Union of India and others, was dismissed in limine is the
appellant before us in this appeal. We are afraid,
notwithstanding the summary dismissal;
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of the writ Petition by the High Court, this appeal has to
be allowed The appellant is rightly aggrieved with letter
No. 18.(12)/81-SAIL-II/ Coord dated April 8, 1982 from the
Ministry of Steel and Mines addressed to the Chairman of
the Steel Authority of India Limited and letter No.
PER/IR/7949 (pt) dated August 19, 1982 from the Steel
Authority of India Limited to the Chief Personnel Manager,
Bokaro Steel Plant, Bokaro. The effect of the two letters,
which we will extract in full later at an appropriate stage,
is to deny to the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes the
benefit of reservation in the matter of promotion to
selection posts within Group ’A’. The Bokaro Steel Plant, we
may mention here, is a unit of the Steel Authority of India
Limited which in turn is a public limited Company entirely
owned, controlled and supervised by the Central Government.
It is not disputed that the Steel Authority of India Limited
is an instrumentality of the State and is an authority
within the meaning of Art. 12 of the Constitution of India.
The Government of India, Ministry of Finance Bureau of
Public Enterprises, issued a directive to the Chief
Executives of all Public Sector Enterprises on the subject
of reservation for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in
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appointments in public enterprises. While 15%; and 7.5 per
cent of posts are generally to be reserved for Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes respectively, in the case of
promotion of members of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes to posts promotion to which are by the selection
method, a special procedure is devised by Para 9 of the
directive. In the case of promotions within Group ’A’, it is
laid down:
"In promotions by selection to posts within
Group ’A which carry an ultimate salary of Rs. 2,
250 per month, or less, the scheduled
caste/scheduled tribe officers who are senior
enough in the zone of consideration for promotion
so as to be within the number of vacancies for
which the select list has to be drawn up, would be
included in that list provided they are not
considered unfit for promotion. Their position in
the select list would, however, be The same as
assigned to them by the Departmental Promotion
Committee on the basis of their record of service.
They would not be given, for this purpose one
grading higher than the grading otherwise
assignable to them on the basis of their record of
service,"
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A close perusal of the directive and in particular
paragraph 9 which deals with "concessions to employees of
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in promotions by
selection method’’ makes it abundantly clear that the rule
of reservation is also applicable to promotions by selection
to posts within Group A’ which carry an ultimate salary of
Rs. 2, 250 per month or less, but that the procedure is
slightly different than in the case of other posts. While
the rule of reservation applies to promotions by selection
to posts within Group ’A’ carrying a salary of Rs. 2,250 per
month or less, it is prescribed that only those officers
belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes will
be considered for promotion who are senior enough to be
within the zone of consideration. Thereafter a Select List
depending upon the number of vacancies would be drawn up in
which would also be included those officers belonging to the
Scheduled Castes and scheduled Tribes who are not considered
unfit for promotion. Their position in the Select List would
be that assigned to them by the Departmental Promotion
Committee on the basis of the record of service. In other
words, their inclusion in the Select List would not give
them seniority, merely by virtue of their belonging to the
scheduled castes and scheduled tribes over other officers
placed above them in the Select List by the Departmental
Promotion Committee. This appears to us to be the only
possible interpretation of paragraph 9 of the
directive. However, by letter No. 18(12)/81-SAlL II/Coord
dated the 8th April, 1982 from the Ministry of Steel and
Mines, Department of Steel, addressed to the Chairman of the
Steel Authority of India Limited, the above-mentioned
paragraph 9 of the directive appears to have been totally
misinterpreted. The letter runs as follows:
"Sir,
I am directed to refer to your letter No. PER/IR/1914
(pt) dated the 12th November, 1981 on the above subject and
to say that in accordance with para 9 of the Presidential
Directive on the subject there is no reservation for S/C ST
in promotion by selection to posts within Group ’A’ which
carry an ultimate salary of Rs 2250 per month or less.
Your faithfully,
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Sd/
(T.V. NAYER)
Deputy Secretary to the Govt. Of India"
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This letter in turn was followed by a communication
dated August 19, 1982 from the Steel Authority of India to
the Chief Personnel Manager of Bokaro Steel Plant to the
following effect: "
Dear Sir,
Kindly refer to your letter No. BCL-PER (OP)
5/57//3251 dated 19th July, 1982, on the above subject.
2. No reservation for scheduled caste/scheduled
tribe candidates in matters of promotions to any grade
within Group-A posts are to be provided, since
promotions within Group-A posts in the company are
based on selection method. The principle of seniority
subject to fitness does not apply in the case of our
promotion policy since the employees have first to be
found suitable for promotion through selection process,
and only thereafter, at certain levels, are the
promotions made in the order of seniority of the
selected.
Yours faithfully.
Sd/
(P.N. Singh)
Deputy Director (IR)"
It is at once seen that the two letters are contrary to
para graph 9 of the Presidential Directive on which they
purport to place reliance. Paragraph 9 of the Presidential
Directive no where says that the rule of reservation does
not apply to promotion by selection to posts within Group
which carry an ultimate salary of Rs. 225) per month or
less. On the other hand paragraph 9 of the Presidential
Directive proceeds on the basic assumption that the rule of
reservation does apply but prescribes a certain procedure to
be followed, a procedure different from the usual procedure
adopted in filling up posts reserved for Scheduled Castes
and Scheduled Tribes. It is indeed a matter of surprise to
us that the Ministry of Steel and Mines has chosen to place
such an interpretation on paragraph 9 of the Presidential
Directive. The stand taken by them in the letter dated April
8, 1984 is reiterated in paragraph 5 of the counter
affidavit filed on behalf of the Union of India. No
explanation has been given in the counter affidavit for what
appears to us to be a plain volte face. We have no option,
but to quash the
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letters dated April 8, 1982 and August 19, 1982 above
extracted by us and to direct the respondents to give effect
to paragraph 9 of the Presidential Directive with effect
from the date of the Directive. We have set out our
interpretation of the Presidential Directive and effect will
be given to the Presidential Directive in the manner
interpreted by us. We also wish to make it clear that the
classification of posts will be on the same lines as
mentioned in paragraph 2 of the Presidential Directive. The
writ petition is allowed with costs.
N.V.K. Petition allowed.
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