Reservation for Scheduled Castes in promotion to A Grade Guards under the Railway Board's Circular dated 20th April 1970 is limited to 15% of the posts and not the vacancies occurring in the cadre of posts.

K. N. Singh, J.

1. BY means of this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution, the petitioners, who are in the service of the Northern Railway as Grade B Guards and Grade C Guards, have challenged the selection of respondents Nos. 4 to 8 for appointment to the posts in Grade A Guards. The petitioners have claimed relief for quashing the Railway Circulars dated 27th August, 1968 and 20th April, 1970 but during the course of the argument, the petitioners have confined their relief to the quashing of the selection of the aforesaid respondents.

2. IN the Railway service, there are three classes of Guards, namely. Guards A Garde in the pay scale of Rs. 205-7-240-8-280, Guards B Grade in the pay scale 150-5-175-6-205-EB-7-240 and Guards C Garde in the pay Scale of 130-4-170-EB-5-200-EB-5-225. The three categories of Guards belong to the category of Class III posts in Railway Service. Under the existing service rules and the circulars issued by the Railway Board, initial recruitment is made in the Grade C Guards, B Grade Guards are appointed by promotion from Guards Grade C on the basis of seniority while appointments to the post of Grade A Guards are made by selection from the aforesaid two lower Grades. A departmental Selection Committee is constituted for holding selection. On the basis of the list prepared by the Selection Committee, promotion is made to the post of A Grade Guards as and when vacancy arises. IN 1 972, selections were made for promotion to A Grade Guards. The petitioners Nos. 1 to 3 are B Grade Guards while petitioners Nos. 4 to 6 are C Grade Guards in the Northern Railway posted within Moradabad Division. They were not selected while junior to them were considered and selected. Respondents Nos. 4 to 8 were selected against the reserved vacancies as they belonged to the Scheduled Castes even though they were C Grade Guards. Reservation for Scheduled Castes candidates were made in accordance with the Railway Board's Circular dated 20th April, 1970. According to the respondents, the Selection Committee selected the respondent Nos. 4 to 8 against the 15% quota reserved for the Scheduled Castes candidates in the vacancies which were available at the time of selection in the A Grade Guards.

Learned Counsel for the petitioners urged that the Railway Board's Circular dated 20th April, 1970 did not ' permit reservation for Scheduled Castes in excess of 15% of the posts of the A Grade Guards. He urged that the respondents have wrongly interpreted and implemented the said circular and if the interpretation of the respondents is accepted to be correct, the said circular would practise discrimination against the petitioners in matters relating the employment.

3. RAILWAY Board is competent to issue circulars making reservation for promotion to the Scheduled Castes candidates and also to fix quota for the purpose. The RAILWAY Board, by its circular letter dated 27th August, 1968 fixed 124% as reserved quota for Scheduled Castes in class III and Class IV posts of the RAILWAYs. This quota was revised by the RAILWAY Board by its circular letter dated 20th April, 1970. 12 1/2% of reservation was raised to 15% for Classes III and IV employees. The relevant portion of the said circular as applicable to classes III and IV posts is as under :-

"It has also been decided that in vacancies in posts filled by promotion in which reservations have been provided vide RAILWAY Board's letter No. E (SGT) 68 CM 15/10 dated 27-8-1968, the percentages of reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in such posts shall also be raised from 124% to 15% in favour of Scheduled Castes and from 5% to 74% in favour of Scheduled Tribes".

4. THE above paragraph clearly lays down that there would be reservation for Scheduled Castes to the extent of 15% for appointment to the posts filled by promotion. THE reservation of 15% has been made for appointment to the posts and not to the vacancies which may occur in the posts. This view finds supp