Centre To Apex Court: Unable To Bring SC, ST At Par With Forward Castes In 75 Years

Image Credit: The Indian Express

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Centre To Apex Court: Unable To Bring SC, ST At Par With Forward Castes In 75 Years

The Centre told the Supreme Court that 75 years of independence also could not bring people from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes at par with the forward classes in the society.

A day after the Supreme Court asked the Centre to present data on representation of Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST), the central government justified its stand on including reservation in promotion by saying that even 75 years of independence could not bring people from backward classes at par with the forward classes. The Centre placed the data of 19 ministries to signify that the representation of SCs comprised 15.34 per cent, STs represented 6.18 per cent, and people from Other Backward Classes (OBCS) contributed only 17.5 per cent to the workforce.

Data Compiled For 19 Ministries Only

Additional Solicitor General Balbir Singh representing the government told the triple Judge Bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao, Sanjiv Khanna and B R Gavai that data for only 19 ministries could be compiled in the short span, and reassured the Apex Court that more comprehensive statistics would be presented in the coming days. The top Court was hearing a plea regarding reserving people from the SC, ST communities in promotions. However, the Court said that the representation is less in Group A jobs. It is unfair that instead of improving it, adequate representation is being ensured in Groups B and C.

More Difficult For SCs, STs To Get Higher Post

During the hearing, the Attorney General of India, KK Venugopal, said, "In group A and B jobs, there is under-representation while in group C and D, there is over-representation. That is a fact of life because we are not able, after 75 years, to bring the SCs and STs to the same level of merit as the forward classes. It is more difficult for the SCs and STs to get the higher post in A and B", News18 reported.

Further, the AGI added that in Group A jobs, the employees have to climb the ladder at their merit and efficiency is looked in; therefore, backwardness does not matter. "Time has come for your lordships to give a concrete basis for the SC, ST and OBC to fill up vacancies". The Law Officer said that they would file an affidavit for the matter.

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