IMPORTANT POINT
There can be no reservation in promotion.

JUDGMENT :

A.K. SIKRI, J.

By our judgment dated January 09, 2015, we had decided batch of appeals which were preferred by the Union of India as well as certain banks. In these appeals, the validity of the judgment of the High Court of Madras was questioned which held that in the matter of promotions in the officer grades, there shall be reservation provided for the officers belonging to the Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) categories working in these banks. This decision of the High Court was predicated on the interpretation to the provisions of Office Memorandum (OM) dated August 13, 1997 issued by the Central Government, along with certain other connected Office Memoranda. It was concluded by the High Court that the aforesaid OM dated August 13, 1997 provides for such a reservation in favour of the SC/ST employees. The plea of the appellant banks was that the said OM does not make any provisions for reservation in respect of SC/ST employees.

2) The question, therefore, that needed determination by this Court was as to whether there is any reservation in the promotions from one officer grade/scale to higher grade/scale, when such promotions are to be made on selection basis, i.e. on merits. The position taken by the appellant banks was that there is no rule of reservation for promotion in Class-A (Class-I) to the post/scales having basic salary of more than Rs. 5,700 per month and OM dated August 13, 1997 at best provides only a concession in the manner officers belonging to SC/ST category are to be considered for promotion.

3) After hearing the counsel for the parties, judgment dated January 09, 2015 was rendered. Provisions of OM dated August 13, 1997 and other related Office Memoranda were considered by this Court in that judgment. This Court, after interpreting the said OM, came to the conclusion that this OM did not provide for any reservation. Operative portion of the judgment in arriving at the aforesaid conclusion reads as under:

“26. While considering this question, we have to keep in mind that reservation policy of the Central Government is applicable to the appellant Banks. It is the common case of both the parties. In fact, as already noted above, there is a specific provision to this effect in the promotion policies framed by the appellant Banks.

27) Next thing which is to be kept in mind is the two office memoranda, one dated 1.11.1990 and the other dated 13.8.1997, which are referred to by the counsel for the parties. We have already reproduced the aforesaid two office memoranda. Insofar as, Office Memorandum dated 1.11.1990 is concerned, a bare reading of this provision would reflect the following two aspects:

(a) In promotion by selection within Class-I (Group-A) post, the SC/ST candidates are to be given 'concession'.

(b) This concession is available to those SC/ST employees who are senior enough in the zone of consideration for promotion so as to be within the number of vacancies for which select list has to be drawn up.

Thus, first requirement is that such SC/ST candidates who come within the zone of consideration for promotion are senior enough to be within the number of vacancies. Once they come within the aforesaid zone of consideration, they have to be included in the list, provided they are not considered unfit for promotion. It clearly follows from the above that once they come under the zone of consideration for promotion so as to be within the number of vacancies for which select list has to be drawn up, for such SC/ST employees the only embargo to deprive them of promotion is when they are found unfit for promotion. For other officers in general category, depending upon the rule of promotion, there may be much stricter criteria based on comparative merit or selection by merit, etc. However, in case of such senior enough SC/ST candidates, the criteria appears to be seniority, subject to fitness.

(c) This OM specifically clears the doubt that the aforesaid provision is only a concession an