Quota in Job Promotion: How BSP chief Mayawati reacted to SC verdict

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Wednesday welcomed the Supreme Court verdict that allow Centre and state governments to provide reservation to in job promotion to Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) employees if they want.

Welcoming the decision, Mayawati said, “After today’s decision by Supreme Court, Centre and states are now as free to grant reservation in job promotion to SC/ST employees as they used to be before the 2006 verdict.”

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In today’s verdict, the Supreme Court said that the states need not collect quantifiable data on the backwardness of SC/ST for giving reservation in job promotion to employees of these communities.

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In 2006, a five-judge constitution bench had said that the “states are bound to provide quantifiable data on the backwardness of Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST), the facts about their inadequate representation in government jobs and the overall administrative efficiency, before providing quota in promotions to members of these communities.”

The BSP chief said that the condition had made it almost impossible to provide reservation to SC/ST employees in government jobs. By removing the condition, she said, the onus is now on the Centre and state government to look for ways to provide quota in jobs.

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Hearing petitions seeking that a seven-judge bench reconsiders the court's 2006 judgment, the Supreme Court, however, said that there was no need to refer its 2006 verdict to a larger bench.’