HARIDAS PARSEDIA Vs. URMILA SHAKYA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted in all these special leave petitions. By consent of parties, the appeals were heard finally and are being disposed of by this common judgment.

(2.) A short but important question involved in these appeals is as to whether reduction to the extent of 10% of passing marks for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes' (hereinafter refer to as SC/STs) departmental candidates vis-a-vis 50% passing marks for general category candidates is permissible when recruitment for appointment to the higher posts in the department is confined only to SC/ST candidates who compete for posts reserved for them in the hierarchy of departmental cadres. The Madhya Pradesh Administrative Tribunal, Gwalior as well as the Madhya Pradesh High Court, Gwalior Bench have taken the view that such relaxation is not legally permissible when recruitment is confined only to SC/ST candidates competing for recruitment to the reserved category of posts in the higher echelons of service. The appellants before us have brought in challenge the aforesaid conclusions and the ultimate decisions rendered by the High Court in the impugned judgment. Background facts

(3.) Relevant facts leading to these proceedings deserve to be noted at the outset. The State of Madhya Pradesh, amongst services run by it, also runs the Transport Department. The appellants, at the relevant time, were serving as clerks in the said Department. Their future chances of promotions/appointments in the hierarchy of posts in the said Department were governed by the Madhya Pradesh Transport Department Subordinate (Class III Executive) Service Recruitment Rules, 1971 (for short 'the Rules'). It is not in dispute between the parties that clerks, like the appellants, working in the Transport Department could stake their claims for further promotion even by way of limited direct recruitment procedure for being appointed to the posts of Transport Sub-Inspector. As per Schedule VI of the Rules, 20% posts of Transport Sub-Inspector are reserved for being filled up from the cadre of clerical services in the Transport Department. As per the Rules, the said 20% posts could be filled up by a limited direct recruitment confined to the candidates working in the clerical cadre, the same being the source from which such recruitment of department candidates could be effected as per the Rules. The Government of Madhya Pradesh had issued a notification on 19th February, 1978 giving 10% relaxation to SC/ST candidates in the departmental examination to be conducted for recruting candidates to the higher posts of Transport Sub-Inspector. It is not in dispute between the parties that if direct recruitment of departmental candidates, like the appellants, is to be resorted to for filling up 20% posts of Transport Sub-Inspector and in that process, the appellants, who are SC candidates have to compete with general category candidates, being their colleagues belonging to clerical staff then, even though the Rules provide that each of the candidates had to get 50% of marks in the written examination, for SC/ST candidates 10% relaxation could be given and passing marks for them would be 40% in each of the written papers.