IMPORTANT POINT
Growing practice of filing applications with different nomenclatures in order to bypass or circumvent the procedure envisaged for consideration of reliefs sought disapproved.

JUDGMENT :

DHANANJAYA Y. CHANDRACHUD, J.

1. On 10 May 2019, this Court delivered its judgment in B.K. Pavitra and Others vs. Union of India and Others, (2019) 16 SCC 129 (B.K. Pavitra II), upholding the constitutional validity of the Karnataka Extension of Consequential Seniority to Government Servants Promoted on the Basis of Reservations (to the Posts in the Civil Services of the State) Act 2018 [“Reservation Act 2018”]. The conclusion which was arrived at by the Court is extracted below:

“144. For the above reasons, we have come to the conclusion that the challenge to the constitutional validity of the Reservation Act 2018 is lacking in substance. Following the decision in B.K. Pavitra I, the State government duly carried out the exercise of collating and analysing data on the compelling factors adverted to by the Constitution Bench in Nagaraj. The Reservation Act 2018 has cured the deficiency which was noticed by B.K. Pavitra I in respect of the Reservation Act 2002. The Reservation Act 2018 does not amount to a usurpation of judicial power by the state legislature. It is Nagaraj and Jarnail compliant. The Reservation Act 2018 is a valid exercise of the enabling power conferred by Article 16 (4A) of the Constitution.”

2. Applicants 277 are before this Court in three Miscellaneous Applications [“MAs”]. The reliefs sought in the lead MA are thus:

“(a) Direct the State of Karnataka to implement ‘post based reservation’ in terms of the judgment passed by this Hon’ble Court in R.K. Sabharwal vs. State of Punjab, (1995) 2 SCC 745 and to re-work all promotions on ‘post’ basis before any further action.

(b) Direct the State of Karnataka to apply ‘creamy layer’ and to exclude individuals belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes who no longer require reservation under Article 16(4-A) of the Constitution with a further direction to the State to apply creamy layer at entry level to disqualify those who were creamy layer at that stage and to conduct the exercise from 17th June, 1995, i.e. the date of the Seventy Seventh Amendment.

(c) Restrain the State and its instrumentalities from taking any action where, no exercise is undertaken for that service or cadre on adequacy or where there is adequacy of representation particular when every specific application of order in relation to each cadre must be Nagaraj compliant.”

Similar reliefs have been sought by the applicants in the other two MAs.

3. Dr Rajeev Dhavan, learned Senior Counsel prefaced his arguments by submitting that:

(i) The present MA is for directions and not for review of the recent judgment of this Court in B.K. Pavitra II.

(ii) The directions which have been sought emanate from the judgment of this Court in B.K. Pavitra II.

4. The Government of Karnataka issued a Government Order [“GO”] on 15 May 2019 [Government Order No. DPAR 186 SRS 2018, Bengaluru]. The preamble to the GO notes that on 27 February 2019, instructions have been issued for implementing the Reservation Act 2018 subject to the judgment that would be delivered by this Court on the validity of the Reservation Act 2018. Subsequently, in pursuance of an interim order of this Court dated 1 March 2019 [IA No. 36981 of 2019 in Writ Petition (C) No. 764 of 2019] instructions were issued in a GO dated 5 March 2019 to the effect that no further action should be taken for implementing the GO dated 27 February 2019 until further directions. Following the judgment of this Court in B.K. Pavitra II upholding the Reservation Act 2018, the Government of Karnataka, by the GO dated 15 May 2019 withdrew the earlier GO dated 5 March 2019 and directed all appointing authorities to abide by the GO dated 27 February 2019 in the implementation of the Reservation Act 2018.

5. On 24 June 2019, a circular was issued by the Government of Karnataka [DPAR 186 SRS 2018]. The circular notes that while preparing the seniority lists in conformity with the GO dated 27 February 2019, meetings were held under the auspices of the Chief Se