<p class="title">Karnataka’s SC/ST Employees’ Association on Tuesday told the Supreme Court the principle of consequential seniority was a natural principle under the service rules followed by the state to grant benefit to its employees and it was not restricted by the top court in its previous judgements in the M Nagaraj and the B K Pavitra case.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Defending the Karnataka law of 2017 protecting reservation in promotion, senior advocate Dinesh Dwivedi, representing SC/ST staff union, submitted before a bench of Justices U U Lalit and D Y Chandrachud that the petitioners here never challenged the validity of the government order of 1978, which originally granted reservation in promotion.</p>.<p class="bodytext">“What the state has done is that it provided consequential seniority which was a natural principle under the service rules. The state here has exercised its discretion,” he said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Dwivedi said the M Nagaraj judgement of 2006 by a Constitution bench had laid down the criteria of inadequacy of representation, overall efficiency etc, which were meant for reservation in promotion. The petitioners, belonging to general category who questioned the reservation in promotion never challenged the validity of 1978 order which originally formed the basis for it. The arguments in the matter remained inconclusive and would now resume on February 5, 6 and 7.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The matter before the court related to the constitutional validity of “The Karnataka Extension of Consequential Seniority to Government Servants Promoted on the Basis of Reservation (To the Posts in the Civil Services of the State) Act, 2017” which was passed to protect interest of the SC/ST staff and received the President’s assent last year.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The apex court had quashed the previous law on reservation in promotion to the SC/ST employees in the B K Pavitra case judgement in February, 2017, prompting the state government to enact another legislation.</p>
<p class="title">Karnataka’s SC/ST Employees’ Association on Tuesday told the Supreme Court the principle of consequential seniority was a natural principle under the service rules followed by the state to grant benefit to its employees and it was not restricted by the top court in its previous judgements in the M Nagaraj and the B K Pavitra case.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Defending the Karnataka law of 2017 protecting reservation in promotion, senior advocate Dinesh Dwivedi, representing SC/ST staff union, submitted before a bench of Justices U U Lalit and D Y Chandrachud that the petitioners here never challenged the validity of the government order of 1978, which originally granted reservation in promotion.</p>.<p class="bodytext">“What the state has done is that it provided consequential seniority which was a natural principle under the service rules. The state here has exercised its discretion,” he said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Dwivedi said the M Nagaraj judgement of 2006 by a Constitution bench had laid down the criteria of inadequacy of representation, overall efficiency etc, which were meant for reservation in promotion. The petitioners, belonging to general category who questioned the reservation in promotion never challenged the validity of 1978 order which originally formed the basis for it. The arguments in the matter remained inconclusive and would now resume on February 5, 6 and 7.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The matter before the court related to the constitutional validity of “The Karnataka Extension of Consequential Seniority to Government Servants Promoted on the Basis of Reservation (To the Posts in the Civil Services of the State) Act, 2017” which was passed to protect interest of the SC/ST staff and received the President’s assent last year.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The apex court had quashed the previous law on reservation in promotion to the SC/ST employees in the B K Pavitra case judgement in February, 2017, prompting the state government to enact another legislation.</p>
