Religion, Caste And Tribe Based Reservation - 4

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<b>SC upholds reservation for SC/STs in government jobs </b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->New Delhi, Oct 19: The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the Constitutional validity of the amendment providing reservations for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes for promotion in government jobs but said that the creamy layer has to be excluded from its benefits.

A five-judge constitution bench, headed by Chief Justice Y K Sabharwal, said the <b>overall limit of 50 per cent reservation cannot be exceeded under any circumstances.</b>

The court said that while providing reservation for promotion in government jobs, the state has to justify that the SC/STs are not adequately represented and that the administrative efficiencies are not impelled.

Government jobs do have a quota for SC/ST candidates at the entry level.

But since 1960, there have been several flip-flops in the government's policy on whether SC/ST employees should also get promotions based on their status.

In 1992, the Supreme Court reversed its earlier order, saying that there was to be no reservation in promotions.

However, in 1995, the Parliament brought back reservations in promotion through the 77th Amendment<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->