SANT LAL Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS order will dispose of two appeals viz. Letters Patent Appeal Nos. 588 of 2014 titled as "Sant Lal and Others v. State of Haryana and Others and No. 586 of 2014 titled as "Sumer Chand and Others v. State of Haryana and Others", as the common questions of law and facts are involved therein. To dictate order, facts are being taken from Letters Patent Appeal No. 588 of 2014.

(2.) IN view of peculiar facts of this case, application is allowed. Delay of 569 days in filing the appeal stands condoned. Respondents No. 4 to 15 filed Civil Writ Petition No. 17280 of 2011 with a prayer that instructions dated 16.3.2006 providing seniority to the scheduled caste employees be set aside being violative of Article 16 of the Constitution of India. It was their further case that those instructions deserve to be quashed having been issued contrary to the ratio of judgment of the Supreme Court in M. Nagaraj v. Union of India and Others (2006) 8 Supreme Court Cases 212 besides other judgments. Their further prayer was to quash orders dated 16.9.2010 (Annexure P5) and 17.9.2010 (Annexure P6), respectively vide which their claim for stepping up of pay of senior general category employees at par with their junior counterparts of reserved category employees was rejected. That writ petition was allowed vide order dated 7.8.2012. Instructions and orders, referred to above, were quashed.

(3.) IT was specifically noted that such like promotions can be given if the competent authority is satisfied on the basis of quantifiable data that there was backwardness, inadequacy of representation in public employment and overall administrative efficiency. It was further said that only if such an exercise is done by the Government then reservation in promotion can be given. Noting that above exercise was not done by the Government, in M.Nagraj's case (supra) the promotions were quashed and parameters were laid down to adopt such a policy of accelerated promotion.