RATNA SAI Vs. STATE BANK OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners are the employees of the State Bank of India at Vijayawad and Tenali. They prayed for the issuance of a writ of Mandamus directing the respondent, namely, the State Bank of India not to make reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes while promoting clerks to the post of Officer-Grade II.

(2.) The case of the petitioners is that under section 43 of the State Bank of India, Act. 1955, the power to determine the terms and condition of service of the employees is vested in the Bank. On 18-1-1967 a circular was issued by the Bank stating that the reservation of posts for Scheduled Tribes will be only in regard to persons appointed by direct recruitment. On 3-4-1978 the State Bank of India issued a circular containing the scheme of reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the Bank in the matter of promotions. In that it was stated that the Government of India had decided to extend the scheme of reservation to Scheduled Caste and Schedule Tribe employees in the nationalised banks in the matter of promotions and the Slate Bank was asked to formulate a scheme for their employees to implement this scheme of the Government of India. According to that scheme, in respect of promotions from clerks and cashier to the post of Officers-Grade II the procedure presently in vogue for promotion of clerks will be broadly followed except for the modifications and relaxations in the case of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe employees. One such modification was that the eligibility norm in respect of the number of fears of service would be relaxed by one year. A common written test will be held for all the candidates and in the case of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe employees relaxation will be granted to the extent of 5 per cent of the required qualifying marks. The interviews cf the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe employees, who qualify in the written test, will be held in separate sittings in order to avoid a comparision ol their standards with the general candidates and Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe employees will be granted a relaxation to the extent of 10% of the required qualifying marks in the interviews. After the final selectlist is prepared, the reserved vacancies will be filled up by Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe employees considered suitable for promotion according to the procedure indicated in paragraph 1.3, 1.4 and 1.6. Under these paragraphs reservations were required to be made at 15% for Scheduled Castes and 7 1/2 for Scheduled Tribes.

(3.) In view of the decision of the Supreme Court in A.B.S.K. Sangh (Railway) Vs. Union of Indial following which we have to-day held in W.P. No. 4742 of 1979 etc. batch of writ petitions that the reservation of posts for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes even in the case of promotions is valid, it cannot be denied that such reservation in the case of promotion of the employees of the State Bank of India also cannot be questioned.