SC declines to review reservation policy

Speciality in medicine

The Supreme Court on Thursday left it to the Union government to decide if there should be reservations for lower caste candidates to faculty positions in the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and other institutes, which offer speciality and super-speciality courses.

However, the court said its door will be open to examine the matter, if and when the government takes a decision on it.

A five-judge bench presided over by Justice H L Dattu disposed of a review petition filed by the Centre challenging a July 18 decision of the court.

A five-judge constitutional bench led by then Chief Justice Altamas Kabir had endorsed the views expressed in 1992 by a nine-judge bench in the Indra Sawhney versus Union of India case, popularly known as the Mandal case, and said there had to be certain scenarios where merit alone would count for selecting candidates. The verdict emphasised that “the very concept of reservation implies mediocrity”.

The Centre questioned the recent decision by arguing that it went against the Mandal judgment, which did not prohibit reservation to posts in any particular service.

Additional Solicitor General L N Rao tried to convince the bench of the Centre’s stand. The court, however, said the judgment made clear that the government had to follow the ruling in the Indra Sawhney case. “That’s all and nothing more than that,” said the court, further explaining that “we have not added a word other than what has been said in the Indra Sawhney judgment.”

“It is open for the Central government to take a decision whether there can be a reservation in speciality and super speciality posts,” said the bench, which also comprised justices S S Nijjar, Ranjan Gogoi, M Y Eqbal and Vikramajit Sen.

The Centre wanted a review of the verdict and cited the ruling of the nine-judge bench, which had held that reservation in promotions was not permissible, but reservation in direct recruitment was permissible at every level.