Supreme Court refuses to lay down yardstick

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has refused to dilute conditions for reservations in the promotion of Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in government jobs, adding that it cannot lay down a new yardstick. A three-judge bench headed by Justice Nageswara Rao said states are obligated to collect data on the inadequacy of representation of SCs/STs.

The top court said it cannot lay down any yardstick to determine the inadequacy of representation of SCs/STs and it is for the states to do so. The Supreme Court said state governments are obligated to collect quantifiable data before granting reservation in promotion to SC/ST employees and added that it cannot lay down any new yardstick after the decision of the Constitution Bench.

The top court said, "The state is obligated to collect quantifiable data regarding SC/ST Representation. The data on reservations must be collected on the basis of cadre-based vacancies. States must conduct a review for the purpose of providing reservation."

The Centre had earlier told the bench that it is a fact of life that even after around 75 years of independence, those belonging to SCs and STs have not been brought to the same level of merit as the forward classes. The Supreme Court had reserved its verdict on October 26, 2021.