Former AG tells state it can implement SC/ST promotions

Former Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi on Thursday has given an opinion to the state government that it can go ahead with the implementation of the 2017 law giving reservation in promotion to SC/ST employees.

“It is clear that the implementation of the Act will not amount to a contempt of the Supreme Court, even though the matter is currently sub-judice,” he said in his written opinion.

“There is no stay by the court upon operation of the Act. There is no question of contempt whatsoever,” Rohatgi said.

Will of Assembly

He reminded that it is the bounden duty of the state government to implement the will of the Assembly and to ensure that the Act is implemented.

“The Act being law must be implemented. The government has no choice in this regard. The validity of the Act would be decided by the court but that is no reason not to implement it,” he said.

Rohatgi had earlier appeared for the government in the apex court against a batch of petitions challenging the validity of the 2017 Act, filed by B K Pavithra and others.

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’ was passed to protect interest of the SC/ST staff and received the President’s assent on June 23, 2018.

The law was enacted after the top court, in February, 2017, quashed the previous law for being in violation of the 2006 M Nagaraj judgement and the state government having not taken the requisite exercise of collecting data on inadequacy of representation, backwardness and overall efficiency.

On July 27, last, Advocate General Udaya Holla gave an oral assurance that the status quo may not be altered till the top court examined the matter, including implementation of its 2017 Pavithra judgement.